


Welcome to New York

by IsabellaTVSKMSL



Category: Big Brother RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-03-04 14:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3071360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabellaTVSKMSL/pseuds/IsabellaTVSKMSL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zachs mom decides that he will join her to NYC for a week he is prepared to have the worst time of his life. But instead of wasting  away time walking around the city with a girl that his mom has set him up with he makes an unexpected new friend and learns a lot about himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I asked on Tumblr if I should write down the fic that was writing itself inside my head. The response was great, so I had to do it. I have it all planned out but don't know how many chapters the story will be yet. Enjoy! <3

It all began the moment Zach asked his mom, "What's _Mamma Mia_?"

Zach had been hanging out on the couch, watching tv, when Jill had popped into the living room. She had been on the phone with a friend of hers for a while now and _Mamma Mia_ was mentioned a lot, so Zach had gotten curious.

Jill lowered her phone and looked at Zach as if he was crazy. With a sigh she anwered: " _Mamma Mia_ is a Broadway show." She shook her head in disbelief and brought the phone back to her ear.

"Anyway as I were saying… Wait, I haven an idea. Could you maybe make it three tickets?" She asked, adding, "Zach is joining us."

The barely audible voice on the other side of the phone sounded surprised and Jill laughed in response.

"No, it wasn't his idea to join, I just made the decision for him. He didn't know what _Mamma Mia_ was, my boy needs to be cultured!"

The vague voice was talking again, and his mother shook her head while turning around and looking at Zach, making sure that he knew what she would say next was also very much meant for him to hear.

"Zach has been doing nothing all summer long; it'll be good for him to get out for a little while."

Zach was immediatly done with his mom and went to his room where he threw himself on his bed. He wasn't doing 'nothing' - he was hanging out with his bros a lot, going to the golf course and playing with Pizzle, and hey! This wasn't the summer he had imagined either, but it wasn't his fault that he hadn't gotten on Big Brother. Zach had been so sure of his audition. He even told them, the casting directors, that they had to be crazy not to cast him. Apperently they were. This season had been incredibly boring so far. It seemed as if after all the drama that happened in the last season they were afraid to have any big personalities, or people with personalities at all, on their show. He knew it was really bad when his mother had opted out after a couple of episodes, and she was a super fan! There were no shownmances and no fights. Even Julie Chen seemed bored with the contestants. Zach knew that he would have been this seasons fan favorite for sure, but he wasn't on it, so his bros and golf were all he had this summer.

What sucked though was that his mom had kind of figured out that 'hanging with his bros' mainly ment smoking joints, and she wasn't pleased. He had been expecting a punishment for a while now and this seemed to be it: joining his mom and one of her friends for a broadway show. _Mamma Mia_ , most likely. He knew his mom would do a lot, anything really, to keep him away from his bros. She would take any opportunity, even if it was just for one night; and what mom wanted, she got.

Zach figured giving up one night to go to a show wouldn’t be so bad, but he still planned to go back to the livingroom and argue with her. He did not want to go down without a fight; it was just not in his nature. Just when Zach was about to confont her, Jill entered his room, having finished up her phone call. She easily manouvered herself through the piles and piles of dirty clothes, having done so many times before, and sat down at the end of Zach's bed.

"So..." she began, before Zach cut her off.

"What the hell, Mom? What was that about?"

She smiled, not even apologetic, and said, "Sorry Zach, but it's for your own good. You're just hanging around all day long, either alone or with your friends, and it annoys me to see you wasting all this time. So you're going to join me in New York for a week."

It took a couple of seconds before Zach had processed what his mom just told him, but then it hit.

"Wait, what? New York? For a WEEK?" He had been prepared to give up one evening so his mom could take him to this _Mamma Mia_ thing at one of the community theaters, but he wasn't ready to just drop everything and leave for a week.

"I can't just leave. I have responsibilities here!" He tried not to raise his voice because that never worked with Jill, so he did what he could to keep himself together.

Jill laughed again, this time at him. "Responsibilities? Oh please, Zach. Don't make me laugh. We're leaving in five days."

There was a lot that Zach wanted to say to her, but that would only get him grounded so instead he counted to ten inside his head. Jill got up and was on her way out when he felt calm enough to reason with her again.

"I know you won’t let me get let me get out of this, so fine, I’ll deal with it, but I refuse to follow you around all day, shopping and shit. I just won't."

Jill seemed deep in thought for a moment before she spoke again. "Okay, I think we can make a deal - wait," she interrupted herself, "Do you even know who we'll meet up with there?"

Zach shook his head.

"It’s Jane; she moved to New York when you were about six I believe, and she had such a sweet daughter, you remember Veronica?"

Zach shook his head again, a little annoyed this time. He had no idea why all this information was necessary.

"You don't?"

"No, Mom."

"Well you used to play a lot with her, she was so cute! She had a crush on you too, did you know?"

So that was the reason. One of his mom’s ever lasting attempts at setting him up.

"No, I didn't." He sighed. "Just get to the deal you wanted to make, please."

Jill straightened her back and smiled, she seemed really proud of her plan.

"Yes, the deal. You don't have to hang out with me and Jane all day if you spend it with Veronica instead. We'll see each other at the Broadway show and let’s agree to at least eat dinner together so we won't be complete strangers."

"Wait, wait..." Zach heard a lot of things he didn't like. "So I still have to go to that _Mamma Mia_ thing? And why does it have to be Veronica? I don't even remember her, what if we don't get along? Can't I just venture out on my own?"

Jill looked confused for a second.

" _Mamma Mia_? No, that hasn't been on Broadway for a while now. We're going to Rock of Ages."

" _Rock of Ages_?" Zach repeated the name as if it was a foreign word, to him it actually was.

"Yes, _Rock of Ages_. It has music from the eighties in it, you'll love it!" Jill grinned big at the thought of seeing a show with Zach.

"OK, whatever," Zach sighed and was about to show his mom her way out when he remembered that she hadn't answered his second question.

"But answer me, why do I have to hang out with this Victoria person-"

"Veronica." His mom corrected.

"-Veronica, whatever, why do I have to hang out with her? I'll be fine on my own!"

Jill sighed. "Zach, no. You've never been in New York before. That city is huge. You could get lost, and get mugged, or accidentally join a gang or something. Veronica knows the city and she's a dear. You'll hit it off. Maybe one of the days you’ll end up dating!" She smiled sweetly but Zach couldn't believe her. She wasn't even hiding the fact that she was setting him up.

"Mom." He whined. "I can't believe you, you're not even denying that you want me to date her."

"Oh Hunny," Jill chuckled, "I just really want grandchildren one day, but you don't seem so concerned about giving me them, so as your mom I feel like it is my job to help you find a girlfriend."

"You really don't have to do that, mom." Zach said. "Don't worry about me OK? I'll get a nice girlfriend some day. Just haven't found the perfect girl yet."

"I know, and that's why I'm steering you in the right direction."

"The right direction being Victoria?"

Jill sighed dramatically and looked faux-annoyed at Zach.

"You darn well know her name is 'Veronica', and you're going to be on your best behavior when you're with her. It's either that or shopping with me and Jane."

The decision was made easily.

"I'll be a gentleman." He promised, and with that Jill left his room.

 

* * *

 

 

The next couple of days mainly consisted of Zach’s bros laughing at the fact that he had to see a Broadway show. They were all quick to agree that it would definitely turn him gay and they also poked fun at him based on the fact that he's going just because his mom said so. He was 23, almost 24, for god’s sake, didn't he have any balls, they wondered.

His friends apparently hadn't ever seen his mom angry. If they had, they’d know exactly why he wasn't fighting her. So he just endured their playful banter and called them delirious for thinking that a Broadway show could change your sexuality.

When it came to his group of friends Zach seemed to be the only one that wasn't homophobic. He still thought homosexuality was weird, but that was just his opinion and he knew that the area in which he had grown up had contributed a lot to said opinion. He would never call someone a fag though, or use the word in general, unlike his bros who threw it around as if it was nothing.

The five days flew by and before Zach knew it he was saying goodbye to his friends.

"Okay Zachary," Logan smiled while he gave him a hug, "Behave in the big apple, but not too much. We want juicy stories when you get back."

Zach laughed, "You can count on it," he said and gave the rest of his friends a quick hug. One of them actually whispered, "Seriously, don't turn gay, man." Zach gave him a whack on the head in response before he got into the car that would take him and his mom to the airport.

His mom went through the plans for the week one final time. Their flight would land at 4 PM. They would go straight from the airport to their hotel, check in and dump their luggage. They would meet with Jane and Veronica half past six at Olive Garden, which would give them enough time to dine before _Rock of Ages_ would start at 8 PM. Jane had told her that Veronica had the rest of the week planned out for Zach and her. Zach sighed. He really hoped that they would get along.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, chapter two! Thanks again to zankie-bae on tumblr for beta-ing, and I hope you will enjoy it! <3

As his mom had predicted New York was indeed very busy. They stayed at a hotel called The Paramount because Jane and her family lived in a shoebox that had no room left for guests. Their hotel was situated on west 45th street between 7th and 8th avenue, about a minute walk away from Times Square. Zach had successfully persuaded his mom into booking two rooms. He had done that for two reasons: one, because his mom snored like crazy and two, because he wanted the privacy. This way it would at least feel a little like a vacation instead of forced time away from home.

When Zach and Jill approached the restaurant they had agreed to meet Jane and Veronica at, Zach noticed that only Jane was waiting for them. Jill squealed the moment she saw Jane and picked up her pace. They hugged as if they hadn't seen each other for years (which probably wasn't far from the truth) after which Jane took Zach by his extended hand and drew him in for a hug instead of shaking it.

"Wow, Zach!" She said smiling, "You have grown so much!"

Not knowing what to say to this woman he barely knew, Zach just gave her an awkward smile and went to look around for anybody that could be Veronica. Jane noticed it and drew his attention back to her.

"Veronica told me to tell you she's very sorry, but she had conflicting plans and couldn't make it tonight.

Great, now all he could do was pray that they would get along.

"She also told me to give you this." Jane reached into her pocket and pulled out a little piece of paper which she handed to Zach.

"That's her phone number," Jane continued, "so you can call her tonight and agree where and at what time you two will meet. She's very excited to show you around!"

"Thank you." Zach said and he looked over the number while Jill and Jane went into a deep conversation. There was a quickly scribbled 'Can't wait to see you again, it has been way too long' beneath it. How did he remember no one while everyone apparently remembered him?

Dinner was extremely boring. Jane and his mom talked about the past, the present and everything in between. They had no eyes for Zach but still his mom kicked him under the table every time he reached for his phone. Around a quarter past seven they started to make their way to the theater.

Zach thought Rock of ages was good enough; he knew most of the songs and the acting was good when suddenly, nearing intermission, in the midst of all the men with dark hair, beards and mustaches a man with white blond hair came on stage.The man twirled around a pole and disappeared again as soon as he had come. Zach couldn't help but stare after him. Who the hell was that? Would he come back again? Zach was completely mesmerized by the guy and he had no idea why. The moment the curtain had closed and the lights came back on Zach reached for his Playbill and searched for the page that listed the cast. He had found the guy soon enough. In the midst of all the other men with dark brown hair, the guy he was looking for almost seemed to shine with his light blond locks. 'Frankie J. Grande' he read, 'playing Franz'. The fact that he was actually listed as a cast member gave Zach hope that he had a bigger part in the play, at least bigger than just twirling on a pole. His thoughts were suddenly disturbed when his mom had put her hand on his arm and shook him back to reality.

"So?" she asked with a large grin, "What do you think of it so far?"

"I think I really like it." Zach answered, and his mom’s smile grew larger at his response.

"I knew it! Aren't you glad that I made you go?"

Zach was about to answer when Jane popped up.

"Shall we get some drinks?" She asked.

"Good idea!" Jill responded as she sprung up, robbing Zach of a chance to give a witty reply to her question.                                                                                                                            

 

* * *

 

Zach’s suspicion turned out to be right when the guy, Frankie he reminded himself, was a lot more present the second half of the show. Zach didn't understand why he cared so much about his on-stage presence, but he followed Frankie’s every move nonetheless. He did a really funny German accent and that body... The entire audience went crazy the moment Franz ripped off the tear-away suit and revealed his sparkly blue leotard.

Frankie radiated an energy that Zach had never seen before, but now that he had experienced a fraction of that energy, he knew he wanted it in his life.

The show was over before he knew it and Zach hated the moment he had to step outside and deal with the real world again when he still felt the bliss the show had left in his entire body. He was about to tell his mother that he was going back to the hotel when he saw groups of predominantly teenage girls walking in the same direction. He started to wonder why they were all there when Jane started talking.

“So Zach,” she asked, “Did you like it?”

 “Yeah, I-“ he was about to say more when his curiosity peaked and he stopped one of the girls that was walking past him, heading towards the big group that was waiting for something _._ Jane looked somewhat shocked about the way Zach just blatantly turned away from her, but he didn’t care right now.

 “Hey,” he said to the girl, “can you tell me what’s going on over there?”

The girl gave Zach a sweet smile and leaned into him, saying; “The stage door is over there, everybody is waiting for the actors to come out!”

 “Oh.” Was all Zach could say. His mind slowly put it all together; the stage door, waiting for the actors… which meant that Frankie could come out of that door any minute now. He could meet Frankie.

 The girl giggled at the perplexed look on Zach’s face. “You wanna join us?” she asked.

 Zach was about to say yes when suddenly all the girls began to squeal and he could clearly hear them yell Frankie’s name. Everybody took three steps forward, all gravitating towards the blond man that was walking towards them. He had a sharpie in one hand and his phone in the other. The group went crazy and every fiber in Zach’s body told him to keep a safe distance from the big group.

 “No, thank you” he answered but the girl had already lost her interest in him and made a beeline for Frankie.

Jill and Jane were having a seemingly deep conversation and Zach did not feel like waiting for his mom until she was done, so he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and told her that he was going back to the hotel. Jane overheard and was about to go in for a goodnight hug, but he didn’t feel like reciprocating so he took a step back and gave her a quick wave which Jane visibly confused returned. With one last look at the stage door he left.

Entering his hotel room Zach pulled off his sweater and kicked off his shoes. With the last energy he had left in his body he brushed his teeth and then threw himself onto the queen-sized bed. After checking his phone and answering texts from his bros he got rid of his pants and fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Remembering dreams wasn’t something Zach did often, but the way he felt the moment he woke up suggested that it wasn’t a pleasant one. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling while stretching. The entire previous day hit him like a storm and before he knew it, Zach found himself smiling. He would never tell his mom this, but being in New York was actually very nice so far.

In Florida, when he was with his bros, Zach often caught himself saying and doing things that he would have never done 5 years ago. To some extent, hanging with them was incredibly easy; he didn’t have to think about anything but at the same time that was also his problem with hanging with them - he didn’t have tot hink about anything. Zach used to have a lot of passions. Hell, he played the lead in a fifth grade musical when he was in the fourth, but he had forgotten about all of them except for golf. Being away from them his bros him feel oddly free.

Rolling onto his side Zach grabbed his phone from his nightstand. One look at it told him that it was 10 a.m. and that he has one missed call and a text from his mom.

_I just knocked on your door but you are probably still asleep. I’m out with Jane for the day, have fun with Veronica and I’ll see you tonight!  – Mom (8:37 a.m.)_

Sighing, Zach rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom when he suddenly remembered a part of his dream; he was five or six and in a sandbox. A tiny girl around the same age with brown curls was hanging around his neck, demanding his attention. She whined to Zach, begging him to play with her, saying that her mommy told her to.

It did not took long for Zach to realize that this dream had really happened. He immedeately remembered a couple of things about Veronica - She was the most spoiled girl ever, she did indeed have a crush on him, and there was a reason why he had forgotten about her as soon as she had moved away. He did not feel like calling her yet because if the text that she had written underneath her number indicated anything it was that it seemed as if she had not changed at all after all these years.     

                                                               

* * *

 

Freshly showered and dressed, Zach walked out of the hotel. He had made up his mind and had decided to take a day for himself to discover the area around his hotel, Veronica be damned; he really wanted to continue feeling free.

Taking a left turn and then continuing to walk ahead he ended up in Times Square. It was smaller than he had imagined but that did not take away the fact that standing there felt amazing and somehow powerful. Facing the red stairs, Zach decided to walk down the street on the left of it. After walking around a bit he saw both a Hersey’s World and an M&M’s World. Here and there he took pics of his surroundings to send back home. He knew Peyton would love the M&M store. He also passed a gift store and made a mental note to stop by there later on to get his family some gifts.

Strolling down Broadway Zach had the time of his life. Every kind of person passed him by at some point, any religion, any ethnicity and every type of clothing possible. Busses full of tourists were riding around and musicals and products were promoted everywhere. All the colors together made seemingly happy streets. After a couple of minutes of walking the advertisements started to fade, and the streets became less colorful, Zach took this as a sign to make another left turn so he could slowly start walking back to his hotel. The street he was walking on now was also much less colorful, but he still looked left and right, making sure that he saw every part of New York possible, when suddenly something familiar caught his eyes - an advertisement stand that fueatured a poster with Frankie’s face on it.

_“Frankie J. Grande is back at 54 Below for a day with his one man show ‘Living La Vida Grande’ on the 16th of July. Don’t miss it!”_

It peaked Zach’s interest as he stood in front of the post when the door of the building the stand belonged to opened, and no one other than Frankie came walking out of the building with a backpack on his back. He didn’t notice Zach at first and was about to walk away when Zach, before he really knew what he was doing, called out Frankie’s name. Frankie turned around.

“Hi.” Zach muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck, calling his name was one thing, but having a conversation a whole other.

Frankie looked confused but smiled at him anyway and said: “Hi, cutie.”

That had to be a mistake right? Zach wanted to give Frankie a couple of seconds to catch himself and apologize for calling this guy that he had never met before a ‘Cutie,’ but an apology never came. Frankie continued to look more confused by Zach’s silence.

“That was it?” he laughed and slowly took a step backwards, signaling that he was about to walk away. That movement made it possible for Zach to find his voice again.

“I saw _Rock of Ages_.” He said quickly, and grimaced at the way he was carrying himself. Where had all his conversation skills gone?

“Did you?” Frankie said and a smile grew on his face, finally understanding what was happening. “Did you like it?”

Zach nodded quickly. “Yeah.” He said and rolled his eyes at himself. Why was he so awkward? He was never like this. If there was one thing that was both a blessing and a curse to him, it was the fact that he could never shut up.

Frankie chuckled and that sound brought Zach back to the real world.

“Are you always this awkward?” Frankie asked with an amused smile on his face.

Zach sighed deep in the hopes that it would release some of the tension he was feeling. He remembered the day he had met Tiger Woods, his biggest idol ever, and how cool he had stayed in his presence. It worked a little and he was able to crack a smile.

“I swear I’m not, I usually talk too much, actually.”

Just when he felt like he was getting on the right track his stomach demanded both of their attention by growling loud as if to remind Zach that it was almost noon and he hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet.

Frankie chuckled again for what seemed to be theumpteenth time. “Are you hungry?” He asked. “Starving, actually.” Zach answered thinking that this was going to be the moment that they would part ways, when Frankie took him by surprise. “I was on my way to lunch. Want to join?”

“Are you serious?” Zach wondered, excited at the thought of lunching with this man that he had never met before, but wanted to get to know nonetheless.

“Sure!” Frankie answered equally as excited, “Why not? You seem like a nice person.”

“Okay.” Zach nodded and he felt giddy all over. The energy that Frankie had radiated the evening before was even more contagious in person without rows of seats in between them. “I know a great place, follow me!” Frankie said and Zach did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of dialogue in this chapter. Things are finally starting to happen. As always thanks to Zankie-bae on tumblr for being my beta and let me know what you think!

"So," Frankie said the moment they both sat down in a lunchroom a couple of blocks away from 54 Below, "what's your name?"

This question reminded Zach again of how absurd this situation was, and he barked out a laugh. Frankie raised his eyebrow.

“Do you invite strangers to lunch often?” Zach asked as he reached for the menu that was laying on their table.

“Sometimes,” Frankie said. The tone of his voice told Zach that he was speaking the truth. This made him look up from his menu with raised eyebrows.

“You’re kidding, right?” Zach asked, making sure that he had heard it right.

“No, I love meeting new people,” Frankie answered with a shrug, showing that it wasn't a big deal. He then changed the subject.

"Have you decided yet?" He asked with a nod to the menu still in Zach’s hands.

"Oh, yes I have." Zach handed the menu over.

As Frankie took it and looked it over, Zach took the time to look at Frankie. Again, he could feel the energy that surrounded him, an air that made it easy to like him even when you didn't know him yet. Even though Zach would never take a stranger with him to eat, the fact that Frankie did it somehow made a lot of sense.

Frankie made his decision faster than Zach had anticipated so Frankie caught Zach staring at him as he looked up and put the menu away again. Instead of commenting on it, he smiled knowingly at Zach. They looked at each other for a couple of seconds when Frankie broke the silence.

“So, sweetie…" Again with the pet names, Zach noted, and he felt his cheek heat up a little at the comment. It was no big deal, Frankie seemed like the kind of guy that threw 'sweetie' and other variations around like they were nothing, but besides his mom was there nobody that had called Zach any of those names so it was still weird for him. "You still haven't told me your name” 

“It’s Zach, but my friends call me Zach Attack.” Zach immediately rolled his eyes at himself, having no idea why he shared that piece of information. One 'sweetie' and he had immediately lost his cool again.

Frankie smiled at him, both eyebrows raised.

“Zach Attack?” he repeated. “That is the cutest thing ever!”

“It’s not meant to be cute,” Zach sighed, and he ran his hands down his face as he felt his cheeks heat up again.

“So, Zach Attack,” Frankie said with a giggle, “you’re not from around here, are you?”

“How did you know?” Zach asked sarcastically, knowing how much he had acted like a tourist when they were walking to the lunch room.

Apparently Frankie hadn't caught onto the sarcasm and he raised his eyebrows at Zach.?

“Are you kidding me? Between you looking left and right the entire way here and the gator shirt you’re wearing, I’d say it is pretty obvious.”

Zach looked self consciously down at his favorite shirt and tried to defend himself when a waiter came to take their order. As the waiter left again Frankie jumped right back into the conversation. This made Zach smile to himself, enjoying how easy it was to talk with Frankie.

“So, when did you get here?” Frankie wanted to know

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“This is your first full day in the city then?”

“Yeah, it is”

“What have you seen and done so far?” Frankie asked as he leaned forward, excited to hear about his adventures.

“Er…” Zach had to think about that one for a second, not really sure what he had actually seen. “I don’t know, I just walked down Broadway a bit and then I ran into you.”

“That’s the only thing you’ve done today?” Frankie asked with his eyes opened wide in disbelief. He then quickly lifted his phone from the table and turned it around to check the time. “It’s one fifteen. 54 Below isn’t that far down from Broadway, what have you done all that time?”

“I don’t know.” Zach scratched his neck, feeling heavily judged by Frankie, “I just walked a bit and looked in a couple of stores and at some store windows… Time flies apparently.”

“Zach,” Frankie said, while looking deep into his eyes, “Are you aware that you are currently in the greatest city on earth?”

Surprised by Frankie’s sudden intensity Zach couldn’t do anything else but nod.

“I don’t think you do," Frankie huffed as he relaxed back into his seat. "Why else would you take half a day to walk from Broadway to 54? That’s not something that requires half a day.”

“Not half a day,” Zach tried, “I left the hotel around 11, so that’s almost two hours.”

“You know that’s doesn’t make it any better,” Frankie laughed and he was about to say more when the waiter came back with their sandwiches, so their conversation was cut off again.

The first couple of minutes they ate in complete silence. As Zach neared finishing his cream cheese bagel, he looked up at Frankie, whom didn’t have much food left either, and decided that he wanted to hear more about Frankie before the conversation inevitably would be about Zach’s ignorance when it came to New York again.

“So,” Zach began after he swallowed his last bite, “the place where we met, you’ll be performing there?”

Frankie didn’t even wait to finish chewing before he responded, "Yes! Yes, I will.” He then had to stop for a minute and focus on not choking on his food before he continued. "I love performing so much! I have to do it seven nights a week apparently."      

"You perform every night?" Zach asked surprised.

"Yep. _Rock Of Ages_ is Monday through Sunday with a day off on Wednesday and double shows on Saturday and Sunday. So I usually only perform six days, but this week I also added a _Living La Vida Grande_."

"Living La what?" Zach asked confused, and Frankie smiled at him.

" _Living La Vida Grande_ , that's what my show is called." He explained.

"And what do you do in the show?" 

"I mostly sing and there is also some dialogue." 

"That’s awesome," Zach said sincerely, "you have an amazing voice."

"You should come!" Frankie decided, "The show begins at seven. They told me it is sold out but that's usually not true. Should I get you a ticket?" 

"That would be awesome, but I promised my mom that I would eat dinners with her."

"That's OK, take her with you; there is a dinner included if you attend!" 

Zach hadn't even thought about that. "I'll text her," he said and quickly pulled out his phone.

_To Mom (1:43 p.m.):_

_Dinner idea for tonight: there is this place, 54 Below, where you can eat dinner and there will be a performance._

"But seven nights a week, you must be busy!" Zach stated.

"Well, yeah," Frankie agreed. "I obviously can't hang out at night and some days I have meetings in the morning or afternoon. It has been a while since I had a chance to go out and enjoy the city for myself.” Zach knew the turn the conversation would take before Frankie uttered the words.

"At least I know what I'm missing, but you don't." He said, shaking his head, 'Where is your mom?"

"She's exploring the city with a friend of hers that lives here, but I didn't want to join them because they will just shop all day long."

"That is understandable," Frankie agreed, "but do you have a tour guide of your own?" 

"Well, technically-" Zach began, but as he was about to tell Frankie about Veronica Frankie cut him off and reached across the table to grab Zach's arm in excitement.

"Can I be your guide?" He asked with hopeful eyes and his never vanishing happy smile.

"Didn't you just say you were extremely busy?" Zach asked with a raised eyebrow as he tried to ignore Frankie's surprisingly soft but cold hands on his arm.

"The majority of the meetings had to do with the planning and rehearsing for my show, but since that will be done after tonight, the weeks coming up will be calmer."

"Would you really like to be my guide?" Zach asked, even though he knew accepting Frankie’s offer would make for big trouble.

"Absolutely! I miss walking around the city and you need to see it, so that is a win/win." 

"I-" Zach stammered as he put the pro's and con's next to each other inside his head. He could only think of pro's when his phone vibrated signaling that he had a new text. Frankie removed his hands from Zach’s arm so he could reach for his phone and Zach immediately missed their touch.

_From Mom (2:02 p.m.):_

_Sounds lovely Zach, but I'd rather dine somewhere I can talk to you without distractions._

"Oh, damn," Zach sighed after he read the text. Not only did he not get to see Frankie perform, but the fact that his mom had denied a live performance in order to talk to Zach didn't feel right.  
 

"What's wrong?" Frankie asked as Zach pursed his lips while still looking down at his phone.   
 

"Oh, nothing," Zach sighed as he sent his mom a quick 'okay.’ "My mom doesn't want to go to the place where you'll preform tonight."

"That's too bad," Frankie said, "but it doesn't really matter if we will see each other a lot over the next couple of days." He finished talking with a big smile on his face and Zach couldn't help but return it.

"Did you just make yourself my guide?"

"I sensed that you would accept anyway, so there was no point in waiting for an answer." 

That wasn't exactly true because Zach knew he couldn't get away with not calling Veronica at all, but at the same time was there no way he could decline Frankie right now so as an answer he shook his head in disbelief while grinning at Frankie.

"I thought so." Frankie took his phone from the table to check the time. “You know, I need to be back around four p.m. at 54 Below. There is one thing that everybody that has ever been to New York City must do and if there is no queue we may be able to cross that off our list right now. What do you say?”

“Depends on what it is…” Suddenly remembering that he still didn’t know Frankie at all and what if he thought that something every tourist had to do was bungee jumping or something else dangerous that Zach didn’t feel like at all?

“Don’t look so scared,” Frankie laughed as apparently Zach’s worry had shown on his face, “It’s nothing bad, we’re just going to see New York from above!”    

                                          

* * *

 

Zach had only ever known about the Empire State Building so when they entered a building that was most definitely not the Empire State he was very confused.

“I thought you could only stand on top of the Empire State Building, but that’s not this building right?” He asked Frankie.

“So you do have some knowledge about New York!” Frankie said with a teasing smile. “This is the Rockefeller Center. Empire State is too far away and this building generally has a shorter wait.”

The last part seemed to be true as Frankie purchased their tickets and they could immediately walk ahead. Eventually they joined a short queue that was formed in front of two big black doors. Two security guards stood on each side of the doors searching through the bags that people had with them.

When it was their turn, Frankie handed one of them his backpack. After a quick look he got it back and they were allowed to walk through the big doors. Behind the doors were the elevators that would bring everybody to the observatory.

The elevators looked just like any other lift to Zach until Frankie leaned into Zach and whispered, loud enough for Zach to hear but not loud enough to disturb the conversation of the other visitors, that Zach should look above him as soon as the elevator went up. Zach just nodded at first, not fully understanding what Frankie had just told him as his goose bumps that had been caused by Frankie’s sudden closeness slowly disappeared again.

Not knowing what to suspect Zach did as Frankie told him and was greeted by a glass ceiling and a light show for the duration of their journey.

When they finally reached the top floor and the doors opened, Zach was hit by the wind and a beautiful view.

Frankie made sure to get out of the elevator before Zach and then waited for him with his hands in the air.

“Welcome to New York from above as seen from the Top of the Rock!” He announced happily and then took Zach by his arm and walked up a couple of steps and onto a platform with glass walls at either side and multiple telescopes in a row. On their right side was a beautiful view of Central Park surrounded by buildings and on their left was the Empire State Building. Frankie, who was still holdings Zach’s arm, pulled him towards the right side of the building and stopped in front of the glass wall.

“Please tell me you know what that is.” Frankie said, letting go of Zach's arm and pointing at the sea of green ahead of them.

“Come on, I’m not that stupid,” Zach laughed as he bumped his shoulder against Frankie’s. “That’s Central Park.”

“Good boy,” Frankie said with a smile. “I love Central Park; we will definitely visit that soon, maybe even bike through it. I haven’t done that in a while.”

“I don’t know about the biking part, but I would love to walk through the park,” Zach answered as he pulled out his phone and took photos of the incredible view ahead of him.

He didn’t get the chance to put his phone back into his pocket because as soon as Frankie noticed that he was done, he grabbed Zach’s arm again and dragged him to the left side of the building. On this side was a sea of gray instead of green. Buildings stretched down for miles with the Empire State Building poking out in the middle. Zach took photos of the view again as Frankie started talking.

“There is a lot on this side of the city that we need to see. Ground Zero, Battery Park, we can take the ferry along Lady Liberty or even a ferry to her…” That was all Zach was able to understand before Frankie’s talking turned into rambling.

“I feel like you’re more excited to do these things than you are to show me.”

“I told you, it’s been a while since I have had to chance to explore,” Frankie answered and then grabbed Zach’s arm again to drag him to the east side of the tower to admire the view there.

 

* * *

   
Before Zach knew it, he and Frankie were back downstairs. Frankie wanted to be back at 54 Below on time and Zach really felt like taking a nap. He had asked Frankie to walk with him to Times Square because he didn’t know how to get there on his own.

During their short walk back they talked about _Rock of Ages_ and Frankie’s plans for the coming days. Frankie wasn’t sure if they could go sightseeing tomorrow since there was a meeting and Frankie wasn’t sure yet whether he had to attend it or not.  
 

Zach was just about to ask how he would get to know if Frankie was available tomorrow or not when they reached their destination. Frankie stopped walking and turned towards Zach.

“Give me your phone please,” he said.  
 

Zach did so without thinking. When he looked over at what Frankie was doing he saw that he was putting his number in it.|  
 

“Why are you giving me your number?” Zach asked shocked, “Really Frankie, I could be a crazy stalker and you just made it really easy for me. How well do you even know me?”

This caused Frankie to laugh.

“Sweetie, I know when my life is in danger and I also know that it isn’t with you.” He said and then handed Zach his phone.

“Text me so I have your number, and I’ll let you know whether we are on for tomorrow or not.”

“Will do.” Zach promised, still not used to the pet names, and he was about to give Frankie an awkward bro high-five as a goodbye when Frankie wrapped his arms around Zach’s neck. It didn’t take long for Zach to wrap his arms around Frankie’s middle and he pulled him tight for a second before letting go.

“I’ll talk to you soon.” Frankie said.

“Have fun at your show tonight.” Zach answered and with a quick smile and wave Frankie turned around and walked away.

When Frankie was out of sight, Zach ran his hands across his face and sighed. He decided that he would think about everything that had happened this afternoon after his much needed nap, so he turned around and walked towards the hotel.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took a while but I got incredibly busy. I really hope it's worth the wait! As always all the love to Zankie-Bae on tumblr because without her this story wouldn't make any sense and be filled with dumb grammar mistakes.

It felt like he had only been asleep for minutes when Zach was rudely awoken by a knock on his hotel door. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him that it had been an hour and a half. Feeling disoriented and confused, he wondered what had woken him up in the first place when he heard the knock again. With a growl, he pushed himself off of the bed and stumbled towards his door. His mom was standing on the other side of it.

“Well, it’s about time,” His mother said, half joking, half annoyed, “Are you ready? We’re going to get some dinner.”

“Give me a sec,” Zach said as he tried and failed to supress a yawn and stretched until his back popped.

Stumbling into his bathroom, he fixed his hair with a couple drops of water and splashed some into his face. Looking in the mirror he thought he looked presentable enough and hoped they wouldn’t eat anywhere fancy.

“Why didn’t you want to go to the music place again?” he asked when he walked into the room again, still thinking it was weird that she had turned it down.

“I told you,” Jill answered, “I just want to go somewhere where we can talk without interruptions.”

“Whatever you say,” Zach sighed as he put on his coat. He knew his mom better than this.

 

* * *

 

 

Dinner was awkward as they both barely said a word. Zach refused to be the one to break the silence so eventually Jill gave in.

“How was your day with Veronica?” She asked.

“It was fun,” Zach answered. He could hit himself for how fake it sounded. Lying wasn’t something Zach did best.

Like always Jill saw right through him.

“That’s funny,” she said with no trace of amusement on her face, “because Jane texted Veronica this afternoon asking that same question and got back that she hadn’t heard from you yet, so what have you done all day?”

“I ha-“

“I don’t want to hear it, Zachary.” Usages of his full name was never a good sign. “I can’t believe you! The deal was shopping with us or exploring with Veronica, if you want to join us so bad you could just tell me!”

“I really don’t.”

“Then explain yourself!”

“Look, I wanted to call her, I really did, but then I remembered her and she was so annoying as a little kid. I just didn’t feel like hanging out with her.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Jill said perplexed, “That is such a childish thing to do. I raised you better than this.”

Not giving Zach a chance to defend himself she continued; “Veronica may have been a little much when she was young, but she has grown up and is a wonderful woman now. You’re going to call her tonight, Zach.”

“Yes, mom,” Zach sighed in defeat, knowing there was no way he could win.

“But honestly, what have you done all day?”

“I er… hung out with one of the guys from the _Rock of Ages_ yesterday,” Zach stammered, knowing that his mom would never believe it. Heck, he could barely believe it himself.

Just as he had predicted Jill barked out a laugh.

“Fine, don’t tell me,” she said while shaking her head in disbelief, “just know I’m very disapointed with you.”

“Yes, mom."

Jill seemed to believe him as she nodded to herself and then changed the subject.

“Speaking of that musical, Jane has a couple of friends that had tickets for the show tomorrow tonight, but they won’t be able to make it so she wanted to know if we wanted to go again.”

“I would love to,” Zach said with no hesitation which took Jill by surprise.

“You do?” she needed him to confirm.

“Yeah, the musical was great!”

“Okay, I’m really happy about that, Zach,” she said while staring at her son with a smile. He may have lied to her about whatever he did today, but the fact that he actually loved the musical gave her hope that over time he would warm up to other things too, like Veronica for example. Speaking of Veronica…

“Veronica will join us, too, so you won’t be able to avoid her for another day.”

“I told you, I will call her tonight, mom,” Zach sighed.

“Good,” Jill said and with that they were both done with the topic for the evening.

 

* * *

 

First thing Zach did after his mom had dropped him off by his hotel room was calling Veronica, just so he could finally get it over with. She answered her phone with a simple ‘Hello.’

“Veronica,” Zach said in return, not knowing what else to say.

Somehow she recognized his voice because Veronica instantly knew who he was after he had only said her name. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Well, well, well… Zach Rance, you finally decided to call, did you?” She said it teasingly, but it also sounded accusatory and Zach just really didn’t want to talk to her.

“Well yeah, had to at some point,” He chuckled as he rolled his eyes at himself.

“Oh, cut the crap,” Veronica snapped. “My mom told me what you told yours and I can’t believe that you would write me off like that because of how I was almost 20 years ago. That’s a low blow.”

“I can’t help that you haven’t left the best impression behind.”

“I have grown and changed, Zach, and I would like to believe that you have, too.”

Zach didn’t know how to answer and thus kept quiet.

“I thought so,” Veronica said triumphant. “So what time shall I pick you up? Nine thirty?”

“What?” Zach blurted out. He really wanted to see Frankie, too but if he were to meet Veronica in the morning that wouldn’t be a possibility anymore.

“Ten then?” Veronica tried.

“How about… twelve?” Zach said softly, knowing Veronica wouldn’t agree at all.

“Are you crazy?” She shrieked, just as he had expected, “Zach, New York is a big city. You won’t get to see everything if you sleep away half the day and you already wasted away a day anyway. It will be ten, at least.”

“I like to sleep in late, so we will meet twelve. If you arrive any earlier, I won’t come down.”   

“Fine. Whatever. I will be there eleven on the dot. Make sure you’re outside when I get there.”

“Yeah, you got it.”

“It will be fun,” Veronica said, and Zach wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

“Can’t wait,” Zach answered sarcastically and after a beat Veronica hang up on him with an annoyed sigh.

The second order of business for this evening was calling Frankie. He answered his phone the moment Zach had hit the dial-button.

“Hi!” Frankie said excited, “I was just calling you!”

Frankie’s voice and enthusiasm were enough to give Zach a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. He’d seen the guy a couple of hours ago; it couldn’t be healthy to miss him so much already.

“Why were you calling me?” Zach asked.

“It’s about the meeting tomorrow… I do have to be present but, it doesn’t start until one thirty so if you want to, we can hang out in the morning?”

After hearing that Zach did a little dance In the safety of his hotel room. He couldn’t believe the way his plan was coming together. Frankie in the morning and Veronica in the afternoon.

“That’s fine by me,” He tried to say as casual as possible, “I just want to hangout with you, doesn’t matter for how long.”

“Awww, that’s cute,” Frankie giggled.

“Thanks,” Zach mumbled back, his cheecks a little red after the compliment. He didn’t understand why and how Frankie had this affect on hi mand it left him feeling a little confused.

“So where and at what time do you want to meet?” Zach asked after a couple of seconds of awkward silence. He wasn’t sure if it had really been awkward, but it felt that way to him.

“Let’s meet in front of my place say, nine o’ clock?”

“I will get horribly lost before I even reach Times Square though,” Zach joked even tough he knew it was probably 100% true.

“I will text you the address with a description the moment we hang up, okay? It’s not far from Times Square, you will find it.”

“If you say so.”

Silence returned again and Zach still didn’t know whether it was awkward or not. He was trying to figure it out while he listened to the sound of Frankie’s steady breathing in his ear. It made him feel oddly at ease.

Frankie was the first to break the silence.

“How was the dinner with your mom?” He asked

“Oh, it was er… fun, I guess,” Zach choked out, cringing at how fake it sounded.

“That was the least convincing thing I have heard, _ever_.”

“It was nice, nothing special.”

“OK Zach, whatever you say,” Frankie said with a chuckle but Zach could also hear his confusion because of how distant Zach had suddenly sounded. He couldn’t help it; dinner with his mom had mainly been about Veronica and he wanted to keep Frankie and Veronica separate.

Zach almost laughed out loud at that thoughts, first because he had made it sound like he was living a dangerous double life, and second because he was being so dramatic. He couldn’t help it though, Frankie had been so excited at the thought of showing Zach around New York and getting to see the city for himself again. What if he would find out Zach had a second guide at his hands? He worried that it would ruin all the fun for Frankie.

“I will see you in the morning then,” Frankie made sure for the last time.

“You will see me in the morning,” Zach confirmed.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Frankie.”

 

* * *

 

In a rare turn of events, Zach was standing in front of Frankie’s building that morning, 30 minutes early. Frankie’s text with the route had been so clear he had only made one wrong turn.

After he had pressed the bell next to Frankie’s number, it took a while for him to answer. For a second Zach was sure he had made a mistake and pushed the wrong bell when the voice of the man that answered was way too low to belong to Frankie.

“Hello?” The voice asked, “Zach?”

So it _was_ Frankie.

“Hi!” Zach giggled, “What happened to your voice?”

On the other side of the intercom Frankie groaned.

“It is way too early for this. Why are you so early anyway?”

“I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. I swear I tried my best to get dressed as slow as possible.”

“Not slow enough.”

“You’re not ready yet?”

“Almost. I need a little more time.”

“Uh… Okay,” Zach said as he looked around him, searching for something he could do. There were enough stores in the area but he didn’t know how long Frankie would need.

“I have an idea,” Frankie chimed in as he sensed that Zach felt a little lost, “There is a café just around the corner and I would love you a lot if you would get me some coffee. By the time you will be back, I will be ready. Is that OK?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zach agreed.

“I’ll text you my order in a sec. If I won’t save my breakfast right now it will burn.” And with that Frankie hang up.

“Café just around the corner…” Zach mumbled to himself as he helplessly looked at the four possible corners around him. He was about to walk in a random direction when his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was the text from Frankie he had promised with his order. Frankie however had also added an address and a description, telling Zach how he would get to the café. He read it a couple of times before he put his phone back into his pocket.

As Zach walked back to Frankie’s building with a steaming cup of coffee Frankie was standing outside, waiting for him.

“Good mornig!” Zach greeted Frankie happily, but he wasn’t greeted back.

“Not yet,” Frankie growled as he reached for the coffee that Zach handed to him.

“Why is your voice so low?” Zach asked again with a giggle as he watched the life slowly return to Frankie’s eyes with every sip he took.

“It’s a morning thing,” Frankie sighed.

Sensing that trying to have a conversation with Frankie before he had finished his coffee was pointless Zach patiently waited for him to finish his drink.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” he asked the moment Frankie was done with his coffee.

“Well,” Frankie began as he walked towards a trashcan and threw his cup away, “I was thinking about a walk through Central Park. It’s a lovely way to wake up and we can get to know each other. How does that sound?”

“That sounds awesome.’”

“Great! Follow me!” Frankie said happily as his smile had returned to his face.

He started to walk into the direction of Central Park barely giving Zach enough time to get used to the quick change of his mood. He picked up his pace, making sure not to lose Frankie in the slowly thickening crowd on the streets of New York. When he finally reached Frankie again Frankie wound his arm through Zach’s, pulling him close to him as he maneuvered them past other people that were still in the process of waking up.

“Oh, by the way,” Frankie said with a smile as he pulled Zach a little tighter for a second, “good moring to you, too.”

 

* * *

 

They had only been in the park for a couple of seconds when Zach could feel tension leave from Frankie’s arm that was still wound around his own.

“God I missed it here,” He sighed.

“You come here a lot?” Zach asked.

“Used to. Almost every other day before I got on Rock of Ages. I love to bike here.”

“What else do you love?” Zach wondered out loud.

Frankie nodded with approval at his question, as this was the reason that he had chosen for the comfort and peaceful surroundings of the park, to talk about these kind of things.

“I obviously love performing,” Frankie began as he let go of Zach’s arm with a final squeeze, “Singing and dancing. I love my family, my friends, my dogs at home and like you just witnessed, a cup of coffee in the morning. How about you?”

“My family, most of all my little brother, my dog Tiger. I love to golf. I love hanging with my friends, those kind of things.”

From there on they had one long, uninterrupted conversation about younger siblings, families and hobbies.

The amount of things they could talk about had left Zach pleasantly surprised. At first he had thought that they were two completely different people and they were, but at the same time they were more alike then he had thought. Their shared love for their younger siblings was one thing that bonded them. Florida turned out to be another.  
  
"You're from Florida, aren't you" Frankie asked after a little moment of silence, their conversation slowly dying out, so they were in need of new topics.  
  
"How did you..." Zach began when he remembered the shirt he had been wearing the day before. "Because of the Gator shirt?"  
  
"Because of the Gator shirt," Frankie confirmed, “I have lived in Florida for a long while. Still visit it a lot.”

“Where?”

“Boca.”

“Oh wow, that’s actually really close to where I live!” Zach proclaimed excited and they fell into a long talk about their home towns.

They had been walking around for almost an hour when the sun was shining right on top of them. Even though the trees provided a lot of shade they were both still sweating bullets. A café slowly became visible in the distance and Frankie pointed at it.

“We’re going to take a little break over there.”

“Yes please,” Zach moaned, tugging at the top of his shirt as if he hoped that it would somehow help him cool down.

 

* * *

 

With the cold glass of coke between his hand Zach already felt much better. He looked around him, realizing with shock that he had barely seen anything of the park even though they had just hiked through it. Frankie had been his main focus almost the entire time.

“So do you know what you will be doing this afternoon?” Frankie asked and the question caused Zach panic a little.

“I… er…” He stuttered but he didn’t have to think of an excuse because Frankie kept talking.

“I can give you a list of things you could see. A couple of small things, that I wouldn’t mind to miss out on.”

“You don’t…” Zach tried again, but Frankie didn’t listen.

“You do have to take pictures though, so I can see everything you did and then I can give you recommendations! How does that sound?” Finally he gave Zach the chance to speak.

“You really don’t have to,” he said, pleaded almost.

“Why? Do you suddenly magically know exactly where to go and what to see?”

“Not really…”

Frankie tried to understand what was happening but he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.

“Did you talk to your mom?” He guessed.

“I… yes,” Zach decided to say. Talking to his mom was a good excuse. There was only one problem and that was the fact that Zach was such  a bad lair. Frankie saw right through him, just like everybody else always did.

“What’s going on?” He asked with his head  slightly tilted to the right, his eyes never leaving Zach’s face.

“This afternoon I’m supposed to meet somebody else that will be er… my guide…” Zach said carefully. He wasn’t sure how Frankie would react. He hoped in his heart that he wouldn’t be dissapointed.

“You’re cheating on me?” Frankie asked indignant. He placed his hand over his heart as if it had hurt there but his eyes were still filled with joy and he had a slight smile on his lips so Zach knew that he was playing it up.

“Actually, I’m cheating on her, with you.”

“Well, tell me about her, how long had she been in the picture?”

“She was supposed to be the one that would show me around New York from the beginning. We played together when we were kids and my mom thinks we would be very cute together so she basically set us up. From what I can remember I have never been that big of a fan of hers so I didn’t call her yesterday to meet up and walked into you instead. My mom found out that I hadn’t called her though so I couldn’t avoid her forever and we are meeting up today.”

“So what’s going to happen now?” Frankie asked and, just like Zach had feared from the beginning, he looked a little disappointed this time.

Without thinking in through Zach reached across the table, taking Frankie’s hands in his.

“Look, I know it’s crazy but I spent one day with you and I already know I like you a lot more than 95% of the people I have in my life. Can’t we just do it like this for the remainding days? We meet in the morning and I meet her in the afternoon.”

“Did you tell her you were hanging out with me first?” Frankie asked.

“No, I just told that her I like to sleep in late and if we make this deal I wouldn’t mind making her think that I’m the laziest fuck out there.”

“What if she takes you to all kinds of interesting things today? Then I won’t be able to show them to you anymore…” Frankie looked sad again, Zach didn’t like that.

“I promise you I will shoot down any ideas that sound like something you would want to show me, okay?” and then without thinking he added under his breath, “this is exactly why I wanted to keep it from you.”

He hadn’t said it as soft as he has wished apparently because Frankie picked it up immediately.

“Why did you want to keep it from me?”

“Because you were so happy yesterday at the Top of the Rock and just this morning when we walked into the park. I didn’t want to ruin this for you.”

“We’re doing this for you though, you are the one that needs to experience New York,” Frankie said but he didn’t sounds as convinced as he would have liked and Zach knew that Frankie knew that Zach was right.

“You’re enjoying it way more than me, but that’s okay. It’s really cute.” The final part escaped his lips before Zach could think about what he was saying. He quickly put his hands in front of his mouth as blush started to spread across his cheecks. Frankie grinned at him and tried to pull Zach’s hands away again.

“Awww,” he said with a big smile, “did you just call me cute? That’s okay, you’re cute, too.”

Zach shook his head while lowering his hands again.

“I have never called another guy cute before,” he confessed.

“I’m honored to be the first man that Zach has ever thought of as ‘cute,’” Frankie said proudly and then dropped it. Zach wanted to hug Frankie for not making it out to be a big deal even though it felt like huge deal to him. Since when were other guys cute to him? Frankie seemed to sense Zach’s inner debate and brought him back to reality with a touch of his hand.

“At what time did you agree to meet her?”

“Twelve, in front of my hotel,” Zach answered.

“Okay, I’m going to pay for the drinks and then we will start to walk back. If I’m right we should make it just in time.”

With one final squeeze, Frankie stood up and disappeared into the café, leaving a still confused Zach behind, trying to figure out where that comment had come from. What he was also trying to process was the fact that it had felt so right and how true it was. If there was one thing that Zach was sure about now it was the fact that Frankie was incredibly cute.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I just want to thank everybody for reading, commenting and giving kuddos. Writing is awesome on it's own but in the end I want other people to enjoy the story, too. I'm so glad you all seem to do! 
> 
> Secon order of business: I would like for you to meet Veronica! Now that she has made an appearance the story can really begin. We're half-way through Zach's stay in NYC and a lot still has to happen... I hope you'll enjoy it :) 
> 
> Love for the beta zankie-bae

“Here we are,” Frankie sighed as they came to a stop in front of Zach’s hotel, the Paramount.

“You may want to change into some clean clothes,” he continued as he looked Zach up and down, “You don’t look like someone who has just gotten out of bed.”

Not understanding what Frankie meant with that Zach looked down and saw the multiple sweat stains on his shirt.

“Oh, yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” he chuckled and then looked back at Frankie with a smile.

Their walk back had done him good. They discussed things that Frankie wanted to show him and eventually talked a little about Veronica. Frankie had wondered why exactly he had been so reluctant to call her so Zach had shared a couple of stories involving her form his childhood. He did make sure that Frankie knew that he knew he was being childish and he would have called her without a talk from his mom if it hadn’t been for Frankie, because if he had to choose the decision was easy.

Frankie just ‘awww’d’ and changed the topic, but Zach’s mind started to race again. Why did he want to spent so much time with this man, that was less of a stranger now and more a friend, but that he had still just met? Friendships had never been this easy to him. He and his bros were close, but that hadn’t happened over night. That was seven years in the making.

Veronica would be a welcomed distraction from the headache forming from behind his eyes. He made a silent promise with himself: no more thinking and overthinking about his feelings today.

“So, tomorrow: same time, same place?” Frankie asked.

“Sounds like a plan,” Zach agreed and with that Frankie went in for a quick hug.

“Don’t have too much fun, okay?” He said teasingly and winked, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Zach almost told Frankie that he would see him later that day, but he held it in just in time. It would be way more fun to surprise Frankie.

“Tomorrow,” Zach repeated, and then they went their separate ways.

 

* * *

 

Freshly changed into a clean shirt Zach, made his way back downstairs. After stepping outside into the chill summer air, he looked around searching for his second guide of the day. 

It had been a while since he had last seen Veronica in the flesh, almost twenty years to be exact, but his mom had shown him some recent photos so she should be easy enough to recognize. So far he hadn't seen her yet. 

"Zach Rance," a voice behind him said, "good to finally see you."

Veronica. She hadn't changed a bit since the last stack of photo’s had been pushed in front of Zach’s face. The only difference was the length of her black curls framing her face.

Zach was about to return her snarky excuse of a greeting when his stomach growled violently.

“Oh come on.” Veronica sighed and she crossed her arms. “Don’t tell me that you haven’t eaten yet.”

“Okay I won’t tell you,” Zach quipped back. He had told himself he would behavelike an adult and give her a chance but annoying her came like a second nature.

“Now we have to waste even more time!”

"We can stop by a quick place. Is there a subway or something around here?”

She had to think about it for a second before she had an idea.

“I know a place, follow me.” She said and went on her way but not before she turned to Zach and told him that he shouldn’t expect her to pay for him.

“Ditto.” Zach answered and he poked his tongue at her.

The place Veronica brought them to was a sandwich shop on 8th avenue and they had bagels so Zach was happy.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” He asked as they took a seat and waited for their order.

“Well, I wanted to take you to several things today,” Veronica said while giving Zach a pointed look, “but since you wanted to sleep half the day away and we’ll have dinner with our moms before _Rock of Ages_ tonight– “

“Do we now?” Zach said as he interrupted her, seemingly indignant, "I'm glad somebody decided to tell me."

"No, stop it right now," Veronica wasn’t putting up with Zach’s attitude and quickly put him in his place. "I know you decided that you hate me for some reason but please don't. I have thought of a couple of fun things to see and do and I want this to be fun. Please behave."

"I can't promise anything," he answered while picking at the napkins laying on the corner of their table. He knew he was being childish, but he didn’t appreciate her actually treating him like a child. 

"Just give it a try," Veronica hissed while a waiter walked their way with a bagel and a sandwich.

"So, what are the plans?" Zach sighed, trying this ‘acting more mature’ thing.

"Our activities for the day have been limited to visiting the Empire State Building. There is something about seeing New York from above that makes you feel invincible." 

She was totally right, Zach thought with a smirk, though he wouldn't dare to say it out loud.

"After that there is a sale on 4th avenue that I don't want to miss."

"What? No, if I wanted to shop I'd join my mom and yours."

"It will be fun, I promise!" Veronica said with an exited bounce in her seat, "And if you behave, I may give you a make over."

She said it as if this was the way to persuade Zach when it was far from that.

“I need a make over?" Zach asked surprised, he thought he look fine. Maybe he put too many different colors in one outfit but he liked it that way.

"You look like a freshman," Veronica decided, "you know, putting on all of your cool clothes and the way too big backpack with the hopes that it will make you one of the cool kids and everybody will want to be your friend, but in the meantime you look like a loser and you'll definitely get bullied."

"So long story short, I look like a loser."

"You said it, not me."

"Technically...”

"Shut up."

They both chuckled as they went back to eating their food. Zach didn't know how he felt about it, but so far Veronica turned out to be kinda cool. Just a little.

 

* * *

                                                         

Getting to the top of the Empire State Building took way longer than getting to the top of the Rockefeller Center. Zach almost complained about it but then remembered that that was knowledge he wasn’t supposed to posses.

Zach and Veronica filled their waiting time with some chit chat about barely-there memories from Veronica’s Florida time when she switched to a topic Zach was less fond of.

“So, you really want to meet at noon? For the remainder of the week?”

“I do, yeah,” Zach answered a little hesitant. He knew it didn’t make sense but he had the feeling that if he told her she would want to join him and Frankie. That was the last thing he wanted.

“What if you didn’t jerk off until 4 A.M., would that change anything?”

“I what?” Zach laughed confused.

“I have no idea what else could be the reason that you’d want to sleep in so late.”

“It’s not because I jerk until 4,” Zach assured her while shaking his head in disbelief.

“Whatever you say,” Veronica said as she bumped her shoulder against Zach’s.

He started to think of some smartass thing to say back but wasn’t given the chance as it was their turn to go upstairs.

The view was just as lovely as it was the first time. Veronica talked him through their entire walk around the observatory. Most of the things she told he already knew, but a couple of facts he didn’t which was nice because that way he didn’t have to fake being surprised and interested the entire time.

“Wasn’t I right about the way this feels? Don’t you just feel invincible right now?” Veronica sighed.

“Yeah,” Zach agreed as he stared at the streets of New York, trying to see if he recognized anything, “I could stand here all day.”

“We could have had more time but unfortunately– “

“Oh, shut up.” Zach said with a laugh and he gave her a slight push.

This resulted into a shoving war while they were giggling like six year olds.

“This oddly feels like flirting,” Veronica said after they were done and calming down again, “are we flirting?”

“You’ll just say anything that pops up in your mind, won’t you?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Somebody doesn’t want a make over.”

This got Zach to bark out a laugh.

“Why are you using fashion as a threat? It won’t get you anywhere.”

Instead of answering Veronica took a quick look at her watch.

“Speaking of fashion, we really have to go now.”

Zach agreed and they headed back down while Zach’s mind started to race again. He had done great so far, he hadn’t thought about Frankie or any of the confusing feelings from that morning, until now. What he and Veronica were doing? That was flirting. If he saw anybody else act like they were acting he would think that they would be flirting so why didn’t it feel like it? But Frankie calls him cute once and his brain turns into blubber.

‘No,’ Zach thougt to himself, ‘don’t start thinking about it now. Enjoy your stay in New York.’

With a quick shake of his head, he put it out of his mind again and went on with his day.

 

* * *

 

The store with a sale turned out to be Louis Vuitton and the item on sale she had her eye on was a brown bag. Before the sale it was a little more than $2000. Zach was pretty sure that even with the discount, it would still be one pricey bag.

“Are you crazy?” he whispered at Veronica because the store felt too chic to talk in aon normal volume. “Do you know how many other things you could do with that money?”

“It’s okay, it’s my dads’ money.”

“Are you like, super spoiled of something?” Zach asked with raised eyebrows.

“A little.” Veronica answered with a shrug and she made her way to the check out.

“Now it’s your turn!” she exclaimed the moment they were outside again.

Zach took a quick look down the street and scratched his neck.

“I don’t want anything from here though, way too fancy.”

“Your choice. There is a H&M further down, is that OK?”

“If we must…” Zach said with an exaggerated sigh.

“Believe me, we must.”

 

* * *

 

Three bags full of shirts, pants and pairs of socks – Veronica saw the once he was wearing didn’t match – later, they stood in front The Paramount, ready to dump them before making their way to the restaurant where their moms were waiting.

Dinner was pleasant for the most part. Jill woudln’t shut up about all the art she had seen today, but Zach didn’t really mind. The less he had to talk the more he could eat.

Forty-five minutes into dinner, she finally seemed to realize there were other people at the table and turned to Zach.

“So, how was your day?” She asked, “What did the two of you do?”

“We went to the top of the Empire State Building and after that I was forced to go shopping.”

“That was all?” Jill asked. “How long did you shop?”

‘Not that long…” Zach said as he turned to Veronica for support but instead she took this moment to bitch about the time they met this afternoon.

“Zach insisted we’d meet at noon so he could sleep in. We only had the afternoon to spend.”

Jane looked slightly disappointed upon hearing this, while Jill looked confused. Jane’s reaction Zach could understand, but the reaction of his mom confused _him_.

Jill’s confusion disappeared from her face as quickly as it had appeared and she changed the subject.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to order desert tonight, the show is starting soon.”

It opened a whole new discussion and eventually Zach forgot about the little moment before.

 

* * *

 

“You’re annoying,” Zach sighed as he let his body fall down into the seats of the Helen Hayes theater. He was sitting in the third row this time instead of somewhere in the back like two days ago.

“Annoying?” Veronica repeated as she turned in her seat to face Zach, clearly shocked, “Excuse you, I have been nothing but lovely and funny and cute today.”

“Exactly, it’s annoying, stop it,” Zach answered as he poked his tongue at her so she knew he was kidding even though deep down Zach still meant it. Veronica wasn’t annoying herself. It was annoying how likable she was so Zach had no reason to blindly hate her anymore.

“Oh, shut up,” she quipped back while rolling up her Playbill and used it to whack Zach on the back of his head.

“You will realize what an amazing person I am sooner or later, so it better be sooner.”

Not being able to come up with a clever replay Zach just mumbled something unintelligible when he was saved by the lights dimming and a voice that started to remind everybody to check their phones to make sure they were turned off.

It was somewhere during the second act that their eyes met. Frankie had been bouncing around the stage and recognized Zach immediately. Zach could see how his smile had broadend for a second. Frankie’s hand made a motion as if he had wanted to wave at him, but in order to stay professional he caught the movement just in time and turned it into a dance move. Zach waved anyway which resulted into a weird look from Veronica.

“What are you doing?” She whispered.

“Waving, can’t you see that?” He answered with a roll of his eyes, and Veronica let it go.

The moment the play was over and the four of them were back outside Zach looked at the stage-door again and this time the mob of girls didn’t scare him. He was thinking of a way to lure Veronica and their moms to the growing crowd when Veronica beat him to it.

“Let’s go to the stage-door!” She exclaimed as she tried to pull her mom with her.

“No thanks, dear,” Jane answered and removed Veronica’s fingers from her sleeve, “I think Jill and I are going to call it a day, we have a lot of things planned for tomorrow. Why don’t you take Zach?’

Veronica turned around as soon as her mom had spoken and was prepared to look at him with pleading eyes, but Zach didn’t have to be told twice. With a quick ‘bye Mom’ he took a hold on Veronica’s wrist and pulled her with him.

Veronica immediately dove into the group, fighting her way to the front, while Zach stayed on the outside. Frankie hadn’t come out yet but there was no way to miss the moment he did. The group of girls started to scream and everybody collectively took a step or two into his direction.

Still hidden behind the crowd there was no way for Frankie to spot him the moment he stepped outside of the theater. As the pictures and signings of playbills went along the group of people slowly started to shrink and eventually there were almost no people left between them. Frankie just finished signing an item of clothing when he looked up and their eyes met for the second time that evening.

“Zach!” Frankie shrieked as he wasted no time to cross the final few feet between them to pull him in for a hug. “I knew I saw you in the audience!”

‘You were amazing again,” Zach told Frankie, soft enough for only him to hear.

Frankie tightened their hug in response and whispered, “Thank you.”

It was stupid how comfortable Zach felt in Frankie’s arms. It was as if they were meant to fit together with the way Frankie rested his head in Zach’s neck..

The sound of a throat being cleared made them pull apart and before he had even seen her Zach knew the cough belonged to Veronica. She looked from Zach to Frankie.

“I have what I came for,” she said slowly and obviously confused as she waved with her signed Playbill. “You ready Zach?”

“Yeah totally,” he answered quickly and as casually as possible. He felt like he was just caught red handed, doing what he wasn’t sure.

“Okay, let’s go!” Veronica exclaimed as she took Zach’s arm and started to walk away.

Zach had no choice but to follow her. Before they were to far away he turned around to give Frankie a quick wave which Frankie returned hesitant but with an amused smile on his face.

“What was that?” Veronica asked as they turned the corner.

“Nothing,” Zach lied.

“Wasn’t he in the play?”

“Yeah he was.”

“And you know him?”

“Kinda…”

Veronica turned to him with raised eyebrows.

“Are you one of those weird fans that somehow become friends with their idols?”

“He hugs everybody, it’s no big deal.” This was another lie to make her stop questioning everything, but true at the same time so he didn’t feel bad for lying.

“You’re weird,” Veronica decided but she let the subject go and wound her arm through Zach’s.

Even though Zach had walked with Frankie like this earlier today it suddenly felt of with Veronica. A voice in his head said that it may be because her arm was like a twig compared to Frankie’s and it just didn’t feel the same. Zach didn’t want to hear the voice and quickly shut it off.

They said their goodbye’s in front of his hotel.

“You sure you want to meet at noon again tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’m positive.”

“Such a shame.”

“I value my sleep.”

With a groan Veronica hit Zach just below his shoulder.

“Stop lying, I know there’s something going on and I’ll find out what it is.”

Zach laughed in response.

“Good luck with that.” 

The discussion ended with a short hug before Zach went back up to his room.

Before going to bed, Zach checked his phone. Sometime during _Rock of Ages_ , it had blown up with curious texts from Florida. All of his friends had texted individually, asking how many chicks he had picked up so far. 

He texted them a vague summary of his day with Veronica back, here and there playing with details to make him seem more like womanizer than he had truthfully been. 

Not waiting for their replies Zach put his phone on silent and made himself comfortable. The sooner he fell asleep the sooner he would see Frankie again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, chapter six! Zankie-bae is amazing and she has cute cats that keep her legs warm when she's editing <3

The moment Zach woke up he had mixed feelings about the prospect of seeing Frankie again. It made him excited. He couldn't put his finger on why, but when he thought about seeing Veronica this afternoon he didn't feel the same jitters running through his body. 

To be honest, the feeling scared him, so his natural reaction was to shove it into one of the far corners of his brain and to think about it as little as possible.

 

* * *

 

Having learned his lesson the day before, Zach was only five minutes early this time. He would have been earlier, but he passed the coffee shop Frankie had sent him to yesterday and figured a quick stop there wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Good morning Frankie," Zach teased as soon as Frankie appeared on the other side of the intercom, knowing he wouldn't be able to say it back yet, "I brought coffee."

"Oh my god, I love you," Frankie answered with a moan, "I'll be right down!" and he disconnected the call. 

True to his word, Frankie stepped outside three minutes later. Zach handed him his cup, and Frankie accepted it with greedy hands. The first couple of sips were taken in silence.

"Good morning Zach," he said when he finally felt like he was awake enough, "who was the lady that interrupted us last night?"

"That was Veronica."

"Oh, that was Veronica?" Frankie said as he started to walk. "How was your day with her?" 

"It was a lot more fun than I had expected," Zach answered as surprised as he had felt yesterday. 

"That's nice! It's good that you gave her a chance to prove herself."

 "Well, she made me do it," Zach scoffed and solely for a dramatic effect he kicked against an empty cola bottle that was laying in his way.

Frankie laughed at Zach's annoyed expression and wound his arm around Zach's waist.

"Where did she take you?"  

"We went to the top of the Empire State Building and after that we went shopping." Feeling like he had to, and he also kind of wanted to, Zach put his arm around Frankie's neck, pulling the two of them even closer. 

_Don't think about how right it feels. Don't think about how right it feels._

“Is it bad if I’m happy she didn’t take you anywhere I wanted to take you to?” Frankie wondered.

“No, I’m glad, too.”

Frankie pressed Zach a little closer to him for a second with a pleased smile in response.

"Did you buy anything?" 

"Veronica bought me almost an entire new wardrobe," Zach said with a shake of his head. "Wasn't needed at all."

Frankie turned his neck as he tried to get a look at Zach's outfit of the day.

"Did she buy this, too?" He asked as he looked Zach up and down. 

"What, this?" Zach asked as he lifted his arm from Frankie's shoulders and self consciously ran his hand across the front of his shirt. "Yeah, she picked this too."

"You look really good." Frankie stated, and he retracted his arm from Zach's back. 

For a second Zach hoped Frankie was going to give him a little breathing room. If there is one thing he had noticed early on it’s the fact that Frankie is a very hands on person. Zach didn’t mind it before, he still doesn’t really, but with the arrival of some of the strange feelings he has had the past couple of days the contstant touching wasn’t helping.

Frankie didn’t give him space though and instead looped his arm through Zach’s. Zach felt relieved though.

They kept walking while Frankie told Zach all kinds of funny stories from behind the scenes at _Rock of Ages_ , when Zach remembered that he still had no idea where they were going.

"What are we seeing today?"

"Ground Zero," Frankie told him.

Zach vaguely remembered seeing where that was on a map his mom had shown him.

All he could think of was that it wasn’t close to Times Square.

“That’s a pretty long walk, isn’t it?”

"At first I thought about taking a cab, but if we walk you'll see so much more."

"Like what?" Zach asked as he looked around. He didn't think there was much to see, just buildings and stores. Nothing particularly stood out to him. 

Frankie looked at him, his mouth opened in shock.

"Like New York?" He said with disbelief while using his free arm to gesture at their surroundings. How could Zach not know what to look at?

"It's just a bunch of old bui- PUPPIES!" 

Behind the window of a store on their right, were indeed a bunch of puppies. Stickers on the window told them they were all up for adoption. Zach ran towards the window, leaving Frankie behind, and pressed his face against the glass.

"I miss Tiger," he sighed while trying to catch the attention of one of the puppies, and then got an idea.

"Frankie!" He yelled while looking over his shoulder to see where his friend was. Frankie was just catching up to him, laying a hand on his back as he came to stand next to him.

Always touching.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Frankie, we have to adopt one of these puppies. It's important."

"Is it?" Frankie laughed. "And which one did you have in mind?"

"All of them," Zach decided. 

Most of the puppies were playing with each other except for one that tried to grab Zach's hand through the glass. "Or just that one." 

"You're reminding me enough of a puppy right now, I don't need to adopt one. Let's go," Frankie said with a giggle as he put his hands on Zach's sides and pulled him away from the window.  

Zach cooperated reluctantly and waved the puppies goodbye. Frankie watched him shook and shook his head.

"You're not being serious, are you?"

"I may be a little serious."

"How would we raise a dog? You have to get back to Florida at some point."

"Yeah, in four days," Zach sighed; time flew by and he if he was honest with himself, he kinda wanted some more.

Frankie abruptly stopped walking and looked at him with a mixture of surprise and sadness. 

"You're leaving in four days?" He pouted.

At first Zach was confused about Frankie’s reaction, but then he remembered that they hadn’t discussed this before and he wondered why. It seemed like pretty important information but somehow it hadn’t come up.

"Yeah," Zach answered while scratching his neck, "four days."

“That’s way too soon,” Frankie said as he picked up his pace again.

“I know, and I hate that I have only half of each day to hang with you.” It was truer than Zach wanted it to be.

"Well, then we have to make the best of the days we have left!" Frankie decided as he took Zach by his hand and started to skip down the street, pulling a giggling Zach with him.

 

* * *

 

Walking around Ground Zero was something else. It was quiet, nobody dared to talk louder than a mumble. The sounds of the city were only a buzz faded to the background, and one could softly hear the waterfall in the distance.

"Wow," Zach mouthed.

"I know."

They walked towrds one of the two monuments.

Different names were carved into the edge of the wall. Some names were decorated with a flag or a rose. The sound of the waterfall was now very close and soothing. Without thinking, Zach walked away from Frankie and started to make his way around the wall, trying to read every name he came across. 

Half way around the pool he remembered that he wasn’t alone. With a quick look back he saw that Frankie was making his own round but the other way around. Knowing they would meet each other again at some point, he continued his route.

Staring at the water, everything else around him seemed to disappear. He felt at peace,, like he could breath for the first time since that morning. He thought about how blessed he was, how healthy he was and what a privilege it was to be able to travel. The way he felt reminded him of his first day in New York City, before he had the weird feelings for Frankie that he promised himself he wouldn't think about so why was his brain going there every chance it got? 

As if Frankie heard Zach’s thoughts he suddenly appeared behind him, pressing his chest against Zach’s back and closing his hands in front of Zach's chest.

"Isn't this place amazing? Really makes you reevaluate everything in your life."

Zach agreed with a hum, but he wasn't really paying attention. The freedom he had felt barely seconds ago was replaced with a closing claustrophobic feeling and the same jitters he felt from this morning.  

They felt familiar and he now recalled that the last time he felt them was during 8th grade when he had had his first girlfriend. He had such a huge crush on her.

_I can’t like Frankie though… There has to be another explanation._

In order to escape from Frankie’s hold Zach pushed back against him, hoping he would get the hint. The response he got instead was a soft moan and with shock and shame Zach realized he had just basically, publicly, grinded against Frankie's dick. This wasn't working out the way he wanted at all. With a quick look around he made sure no one had seen them, Zach finally put distance between them by pushing his body up against the edge of the memorial. Frankie let him go only to turn him around instead.

"I just went by the museum to check for tickets but the waiting time is crazy, so we unfortunately don’t have the time to visit that."

"It's okay," Zach assured him, "we should probably slowly start to make our way back if I want to be on time for Veronica."

"Don't worry! I was thinking we could grab a quick bite and then take a cab back, you'll be right on time."

"You're sure?"

"A hundred percent." 

Looping his arm through Zach's once again Frankie led them through the city. A five minute walk brought them to Stone st. which contained several different restaurants. 

"What are you feeling like?" Frankie asked him. 

One place caught his eyes immediately and the decision was made easy.

"Chipotle!"

 

* * *

 

Frankie checked the time on his phone while waiting in the line on their turn to order. 

"Ah, damn. It's later than I thought," he sighed.

"Did you have anything else planned then?"

"I thought we could maybe order to go and eat it by the harbor and maybe walk through Battery Park, but we won't make it."

"That's too bad."

"I'll take you another time." Frankie promised and then it was their turn to order.

The weather was too nice to stay inside so they took their food and walked a little, they ended up in a park in front of  The National Museum of the American Indian.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Zach asked when Frankie had stayed uncharacteristically quiet during their walk.

"I was just thinking about things I wanted to see with you, but I’m afraid Veronica may have thought of the same things."

"What did you have in mind?" 

"Museums, that place I wanted to take you to to eat lunch, the Statue of Liberty, just mindlessly walking around, that's important too, or –  shit." Frankie put his face in his hands for a second and then elaborated before Zach could ask what had gone wrong.

"I have two shows on the weekends, okay that might not be a problem, but I do have a meeting this sunday." 

"In the morning?"

"Yeah, before the shows."

"So we won't be able to explore together on Sunday?" 

"No, unfortunately not," Frankie said with regret, "but at least you have Veronica so you will still get to see New York! You did tell me you liked hanging with her."

"I do, yeah, but it's more fun with you. I like talking to you – we have so much in common, and you always tell such funny stories." 

Frankie reached across the bench with a smile and took Zach's hand in his.

"Thanks, Zach Attack, I'm glad you appreciate them."

"Oh my god," Zach moaned as he hung his head hoping he could hide his blush. "Why did you remember that." 

"Because it's adorable." 

                               

* * *

 

The cab dropped them off near Times Square with only a couple of minutes to spare. They both had half of their burrito bowls with them because they took longer to finish than anticipated.

"Do I need to change again?" Zach asked Frankie as they were about to say goodbye. 

"No, maybe just fresh up a little, and put the Chipotle away."

"Good idea," Zach said and went in for a hug which Frankie eagerly returned.      

This hug was different from the hugs they had shared before when Frankie suddenly buried his face in Zach’s neck. Frankie’s breath that was traveling down his collar bone once again brought back the strange jitters.

Making them even worse, Frankie gave him a quick kiss on his neck before letting go. Not knowing how to react Zach just giggled although he felt slightly uncomfortable.

"I'll see you tomorrow, have fun with Veronica." Frankie waved, and he walked away.

"Break a leg tonight!" Zach yelled after him.

He turned to enter his hotel when he noticed Veronica was rounding the corner and walking towards him. She was hard to miss with her long black hair waving wildly in the wind, high-waisted shorts with a wide shirt loosely tucked in the front of them and fashionable sneakers.

"Shit," Zach whispered to himself as he quickly started to think of excuses he could use when she would see him standing outside, chipotle in hand.

“Good afternoon, Zach," Veronica said as she approached him, "Where are you coming from?"

"Lunch." It wasn't really a lie, so she wouldn't be able to see right through him.

"How thoughtful of you," Veronica said, though it didn’t sound like she meant it, and she pushed him playfully against his shoulder.

"Don't mention it." Zach pushed her back, although more carefully.

With a 'hmpf,' Veronica turned away from him and started to walk in a different direction than the one she has just come from. Zach caught up to her quickly and threw his arm around her shoulders. When he touched her it didn’t give him jitters and it confused him because she, a girl, or anyone from the opposite gender, should be the one causing them, right?

"What are we doing today?" Zach asked as he laughed at the way Veronica frantically started to fix the hairs that got crushed underneath his arm.

"Well," she began as she was satisfied with the way her hair looked, "the Statue of Liberty is of course one of the first things everybody things about when they think of New York, but in order to visit it you have to book tickets like, a week before, maybe more, so that's not going to happen... Luckily there is this ferry that travels to Staten Island and it passes right by Lady Liberty so that’s our program for today."

Right when she finished her talk she steered the two of them towards a subway entrance.

"Ever ride on the subway before?"

"Can't say I have."

"Subways and cabs is what it is all about here. Welcome to New York, Zach."

 

* * *

 

Their stop was just a short walk away from the wharf their ferry would depart from. They were on their way as Zach had a feeling that he had been there before. It felt eerily familiar but before he could connect any dots, they walked into a big building, and joined an already existing line consisting of the other people waiting for the ferry to arrive. 

"How are you're enjoying New York so far? Or, you know, all of the three things you have seen so far."

"You're funny," Zach quipped, and he was about to say more when the doors at the beginning of the line opened, and they were able to board the ferry. 

"Hold onto me," Veronica said in a rush as she took Zach’s hand and pulled them through the crowd. 

"What are you doing?" Zach yelled while trying to avoid several collisions with other people, failing a couple of times.

"Securing us a good view!"

They went up a couple of stairs until they couldn't go any higher and went to stand on the outside deck, right against the railing. Somewhere in the distance Zach could make out the silhouette of the Statue of Liberty. Veronica pointed at it.

"Keep your eyes on her, we'll be getting even closer; also keep your eyes on the skyline of New York because we will have a beautiful view."

He was not disappointed.

 

* * *

 

"So, what's next?" Zach wondered out loud when Staten Island slowly came into their view. 

"We have several options," Veronica told him, "we can make two right turns the moment we get off and take the next ferry back, or we can hang around out on the island, maybe hike a bit."

"What would we do back in NYC?"

"The 9/11 memorial is close by, there is this park right beside the warf, it's called Battery Park, and we could stroll around,"

She just said Battery park, didn't she? Frankie had mentioned the same park earlier today. Veronica had already shown him the Statue of Liberty, so he wanted Frankie to show him the park.

"I like hiking," he lied.

"Oh,” Veronica answered surprised, “so you wanna hang out on the island?"

Zach nodded in response and went back to look at the shore that was closing in on them.

                                                  

* * *

 

In the end it wasn’t much of a hike because their decision had been made very last minute. All the area’s and paths that were available for hiking were further down the island and took at least half a day finish if you wanted to see it all. They didn’t have time like that on their hands, but lucikly Veronica had been on the island before and knew another place closer by where they could walk. The place was a path that traveled around Silver Lake.

To even get to the lake they had to walk for about half an hour – with all of the walking he was doing today, he must be twenty pounds lighter.

What Zach had feared to be another round of ‘convince Zach to meet earlier’ turned out to be a pleasant talk about their past and present. Most the memories they had about each other were through stories their parents had told. What Zach especially loved to rub in was how annoying she used to be.

Veronica played along,  but she obviously wasn't pleased with the topic. Eventually tough, she had had enough.

"You got me, Zach, I used to be a spoiled brat."

"Used to be?"

"Well, at least I don't act like one anymore, okay? I like to think that I have become a decent human being. Speaking of decent human beings, you STILL haven't thanked me for buying you clothes and making you look amazing."

"To be fair, I am the one making them look amazing,"  Zach quipped, albeit in poor taste. 

"You asshole," Veronica snapped and hit him on his upper arm. 

"What?" Zach asked while rubbing his arm; she had a mean right hook for her size.

"Can you at least act like you're tolerating me? I'm trying my best to give you a fun holiday over here."

"I'm kidding around with you, calm down."

"It Isn't funny."

"I'm sorry, okay? And thanks for the clothes."

"That's better"

They continued their walk, though the air around them didn't feel as worry-free as it had been before.

"You know what they say about boys that tease girls?" Veronica eventually asked suggestively.

"I don't like you," Zach assured with a chuckle.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." 

She linked their arms together, talking about evertything and nothing for the duration of their hike.

Zach watched her as she talked and followed the way her hair played with the wind. There was no denying that she was pretty, but there was just no urge to kiss or hold her. Maybe it would still come. He hoped it would.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Mom!” Zach said happily when he greeted her in front of the restaurant they had agreed to meet.

“Hi, Zachary, I hope you had fun today?” Jill asked while hugging him for a brief moment before they walked inside and sat down.

“Yeah, Veronica is kinda cool,” Zach confessed and his mom smiled triumphant.

“Didn’t I tell you so? She lovely! Now what did you guys do today?”

“We took a ferry to Staten Island and, wait, you have to see the pictures!”

Zach took his mobile from his pocket and quickly looked through the photo’s before he let his mom have a look. He had to make sure to stop scrolling at the right moment otherwise she would see photos with Frankie in them, and that would be tough to explain. What he showed his mom were mainly pictures from the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty and sights he thought were pretty during their walk.

When they reached the end of the pictures Jill looked confused.

“Is this all?” She asked.

“Yeah, that is all we managed to do today.”

“Must have been a long walk.”

“It was alright, a couple of hours.”

“How-“

Jill was about to question Zach further when she got interrupted by a waiter that wanted to take their order and he couldn’t have timed it better as Zach had noticed the reaction his mom just had had been the same reaction she had the day before. He wasn’t sure if she was catching onto something, but he knew better than to test that theory, so the moment the waiter left he turned the conversation around and asked about her day.

It worked and Jill didn't mention it for the remainder of the night until they said their goodnight’s in front of Zach's hotel door. They shared a hug and as they pulled apart Jill gave her son a pointed look.

"Don't go to sleep to late so you'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning."

She sealed it with an unwanted kiss on his cheek that he wiped away and Zach was now sure that she knew something, though he wasn't sure how much.

 

* * *

 

After being in New York City for five days, Zach had built up a steady routine. His alarm went off at a quater past eight which gave him enough time to shower, get dressed, grab a quick bite in the lobby, and then walk towards Frankie’s apartement while making a stop at the café to get Frankie his morning coffee.

He was right on schedule again this morning, everything going to plan until the moment he stepped outside. He walked right past her at first, but she was hard to ignore when she started to call his name. Confused and surprised, Zach turned around, hoping he was imagining voices that weren’t there.

He had no such luck.

“Well, well, Zach,” Veronica said with a demeaning smile, “glad to see you were able to drag yourself out of bed before noon at last.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this one took a while! Real life was busy and fandom life filled with drama, so that didn't leave me much time to write. Some love for zankie-bae, and I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter :)

“What are you doing here?” Zach asked in panic because seriously, _what the hell was she doing here?_  

“Funny story actually,” Veronica began with her hands on her sides and her hip cocked to the left. “Your mom thought it was strange how she repeatedly saw you exit the hotel early in the morning yet you told her we meet at noon. She called me last night to ask what's going on and I told her about how you’re incredibly lazy and wanted to meet so late, but she insisted that you’re not that bad and there had to be more, so here I am, hoping to prove her wrong but unfortunately that’s not the case."

Veronica had probably hoped that Zach would fall onto his knees and spill all his secrets right there, but instead he kept quiet. She didn't like it.

"What is going on?" She demanded.

"I'm not telling you," Zach told her and in a rush he turned around and walked away from her.  

"Fine, I'll just follow you," Veronica called after him.

At first Zach had hoped that she was bluffing, but when he looked over his shoulder he saw that she was indeed walking behind him.

His first instinct was to take a different route than usual in the hopes that it would throw her off. It was a decent plan until Zach walked into Times Square and remembered that he only knew one way to get to Frankie’s from here; if he tried to take another way, he'd get lost.

To buy himself some more time, he walked around Times Square some more (which earned him an annoyed ‘what the fuck are you doing’ forom Veronica behind him).  He was half way into his second round when he thought of a stop he could make before leading Veronica right to Frankie’s building: the coffee shop.

Apparently there was some sort of morning crowd he had beaten twice before because when Zach walked into the café this time, there was already a line that stretched through the entire shop, almost making its way out of the door. There was no plan B he could think of, so with a small groan, he joined the queue.

"Are you serious?" Veronica sighed behind him. Her commentary was annoying, but at least she wasn't prying for information again.

Zach waited in line for a couple of minutes when he noticed that his unwanted guest wasn't standing behind him anymore, but she was now seated a couple of feet away next to the line and completely hypnotized by her phone. His body acted before his brain had thought of a plan, and Zach ran out of the shop, straight to Frankie's building.

When he rounded the final corner he almost ran into Frankie whom had been waiting for him outside.

"Hi, Zach!" Frankie sounded happy despite not having had his morning coffee yet.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I got held up."

"It's okay," Frankie assured. He then saw that Zach didn't bring any coffee and added, "We'll get my coffee on our way."

"I'm truly sorry, I went to buy it but the line was-"

With a small chuckle Frankie put his hand on Zach's upper arm, silencing him in the process. "Seriously, it's no big deal," he reassured.

It would probably forever remain a mystery to Zach why Frankie’s touch did whatever it did to him. He had long gotten used to his cold fingers and wasn't even bothered by them anymore, but maybe that was due to the fact that his skin underneath Frankie’s hand always seemed to heat up.

Zach felt the burning urge to tell Frankie that he had missed him and was about to do so when the same voice that had taken him by surprise that morning had found him again.

"What the fuck, Zach?" Veronica yelled while making her way to him. "I can't believe you just left me th  –  hey."

She came to a stop next to Zach and looked at the guy in front of them.                                                                                   

"You're the guy from the musical, aren't you?" She asked while looking him up and down.

"You must be Veronica," Frankie said and, well-mannered as he was, extended his hand for her to shake.

Veronica looked at it with confusion before she gave in and shook it.

"I'm Frankie," he told her.

"How do you know my name?"

"Zach has told me about you."

"Zach... Talks about me?" Veronica repeated with a raised eyebrow as she looked between the two men. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"I'm his morning guide." Frankie told her.

"His morning guide? What?" Veronica asked frantically and then turned to Zach again. "Zach, say something," She demanded.

"I... What do you want me to say?" Zach knew he was busted and that there was no way he could get out of this looking like the hero. Worst case scenario: Veronica would blab to his mom.

"You could begin with 'sorry for lying.'

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"You didn't mean to get caught or you didn't mean to have two guides?"

"Both?"

Veronica shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm so hurt you would write me off like this over some other guy."

"Frankie isn't 'some guy,’ he's awesome, I couldn't refuse him," Zach tried to defend himself.

"I may have forced myself onto him a little," Frankie confessed at the same time.

"Lame excuses." Veronica crossed her arms.

Not wanting to waste anymore time on this lost battle and eager to get away, Zach tried to close the case.

"Well, the secret is out now. You win, okay? I'll see you at noon."

"Excuse me?" Veronica almost shouted. If looks could kill Zach would have fallen to the ground right there, she wasn't amused.

"What?" Zach asked innocently, he almost batted his eyes at her but decided not to provoke her any further.

"I didn't wake up at the crack of dawn and wait outside of your hotel for an hour to see if you may show your face only to be dismissed again. I'm joining you guys."

Zach shot Frankie a helpless look, but there wasn't much his friend could do. Veronica was clearly one of those people whose mind couldn’t easily be changed. Frankie shrugged at him with an apologetic look and with a final melodramatic sigh, Zach gave in.

"Fine, join us. Just – please behave."

"When am I not on my best behavior?" Veronica said with a sweet smile.

Zach almost answered her with a sarcastic reply before he realized that that was exactly what she wanted, so instead he bit his lip and looked away for a second.

Frankie noticed the annoyance on his face and put a comforting arm around his waist which he then slid across his back until he reached Zach's side and wound his arm through Zach's.

"It's gonna be fun," he whispered in Zach's ear and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek.

Zach rolled his eyes with a small smile in response, and Frankie chuckled before he looked behind them so he could signal Veronica to follow them.

"Where are we going?" She asked while picking up her pace.

"I'm getting some coffee and then we will make our way to China Town."

Veronica hummed in acknowledgment, but didn't say anything else.

"Have you been on the subway before?" Frankie asked Zach as they rounded the corner.

"Actually, I –"

"Yes, he has," Veronica proclaimed. She awkwardly poked her head between Zach and Frankie and looked up at the latter. "I took him on his first ride!" She said triumphantly.

"Oh my god," Zach groaned, "it's not a game Veronica, there's no prize."

"Yeah it's a game," she said as he pulled back and returned to her position right behind them, "and I'm winning."

"Sure you are," Frankie told her as if he was talking to a proud five year old that just announced to her dad that she was the queen of the world.

Veronica did not respond to that; she even stayed suspiciously quiet for a couple of seconds. Just when Zach couldn't fight the urge anymore and was about to look behind him to see what she was up to, she busted right through Zach and Frankie's linked arms, which forced them apart, and she took a hold of Zach's arm instead.

"You promised you were going to behave," Zach groaned as he removed his arm from her tight grip, "this does not qualify as 'behaving.'"

"I refuse to be a third wheel," Veronica said as she reclaimed his hand, and that was final.

Zach shot Frankie an apologetic smile which Frankie returned with a shrug.

It was going to be a long day.

                                                    

* * *

 

An uncomfortable twenty minute subway ride later they arrived at their destination. It was uncomfortable because Veronica kept on demanding attention in a way she hadn't ever before. Sure, she'd been flirty, but she was never as touchy as she was being now. When Zach sat down she immediately went to sit next to him, not even giving Frankie a chance to take that seat. The hand she had then put on his knee felt like a block of cement grounding him into his seat. Conversations between her and Frankie were awkward as Frankie tried to get to know her, but she didn't seem to have the same concern.

Zach tried not to think about it too much and soon forgot about the entire situation as he they walked into China Town and didn't know where to look. It looked just like the New York City he had grown accustumed to, except the stores were decorated differently and everything was written in another language.                                           

"I love it here," Veronica squealed excited as she ran forward to look at the store windows.

Zach quickly made use of his new found freedom and moved as close to Frankie as possible. Funny how when Frankie was all around him yesterday it was way to close but now that they were forced apart Zach needed him closer.

“She’s… something,” Frankie said while he, almost automatic at this point, wound their arms together.

“Tell me about it,” Zach sighed.

“Does she hate me?” 

“I have no idea,” Zach answered honestly. He thought about it a little and added, “But it does seem like that a little, yeah.”

“I hate it when people don’t like me for no reason.” Frankie jutted his lower lip out in a small pout.

“She’ll love you in the end, it’s impossible not to.”

 “You’re so sweet.” Frankie smiled and then pressed a quick kiss to Zach’s cheek.

It was all okay because he didn’t like Frankie. Maybe there was a slight blush on the skin where Frankie’s lips had just touched him, but that was just his body reacting to… whatever. He didn’t like Frankie, not like that.

To prove himself right, he searched for Veronica in the crowd ahead of them. He eventually spotted her in front of a shoe store. The wind played a little with her hair, making it dance up and down. She was wearing a playful white, knee length dress today with bright blue and purple circles in random patterns, baby pink ballerina flats and a Gucci bag, probably a real one too. She was definitely pretty, he couldn’t deny that. He didn’t feel any butterflies though, but hey, that didn’t mean they couldn’t surface any other time.

“I wanna have all of them,” Veronica told Zach and Frankie as they approached her, “It has been so long since I've bought anything.”

“You bought a million dollar bag and an entire new wardrobe for me just two days ago,” Zach reminded her.

“Exactly, a new wardrobe for you and it has been two days. I’m buying these cute heels.” She pointed at them through the glass before she disappeared inside. 

“Can't we just leave her behind?” Zach half-joked. He didn’t really mean it, but if Frankie agreed he might actually think about it.

Frankie knew he was’t being serious though, and chuckled. Veronica walked out of the store not a second later, a plastic gray bag in her hand and a pleased smile on her face.

"Next!" She announced and the three of them continued their journey through China Town. But she still made sure that she walked between the two guys at all times.

"So you two met at _Rock Of Ages_?" She asked after some silence.

"We met while I was wandering through the city,  but I had seen him before in the play."

"And you just became _besties_ like that?" She pronounced the word besties very strangely, as if it was just a guess and they could be anything else.

"I wouldn’t say, 'besties', we've only known each other for about four days now."

"Okay, but what happened that made you get where you are now?" She pushed.

"Well," Frankie began, "we met in the city. Zach called my name. He was super awkward and introduced himself as 'Zach Attack.' He was adorable and looked so lost, so I invited him for lunch and offered to show him the beauty that is New York City. That's pretty much it."

"You expect me to buy that? You just take a guy you just met to lunch?"

"Believe me, I thought it was weird at first too," Zach chimed in, "but that's actually a thing he does."

Veronica lifted an eyebrow at Frankie whom just shrugged at her. "I love getting to know new people."

"Okay," Veronica mouthed and turned away from him again, changing the subject. "There are some stores here that serve the best food, we need to try it," she told Zach.

"Sure, of course," Zach agreed and he looked at Frankie to see if he agreed too.

Frankie saw Zach look his way and nodded, but he kept his eyes at the back of Veronica's head, looking a little puzzled. Probably trying to figure out why she was so rude to him. Zach was silently wondering the same thing, but he didn't want to bring it up, afraid that it would end in a fight or something. He'd rather enjoy his last couple of days in the city.

 

* * *

 

Some sight seeing, beautiful pictures and five new shopping bags, four of which Zach was carrying because he was a gentleman like that (and because Veronica wouldn't stop whining and moaning until he had offered to take some) later, Frankie announced that he had to leave if he wanted to make it to the theater on time.

"When will I see you again?" Zach asked while trying to hold back a pout.

"Monday, I guess," Frankie answered.

"Hold up," Veronica interrupted them, "you guys aren't seeing each other tomorrow?"

"No, I have two shows and a meeting before that, so he'll be all yours."                                                                                     

"That's gonna be so much fun!" Veronica shrieked before turning to Zach so she could make sure he was just as excited, "Won't that be fun?"

"It's gonna be great," Zach reassured her. Veronica smiled satisfied as she thankfully hadn't caught onto his sarcastic undertone.

"Take care of each other," Frankie said before be gave Zach a hug. He moved to give Veronica one too, but she extended her hand for his to shake instead.

"It was a pleasure to meet you," he told her.

"Yeah, likewise," Veronica said nonchalant. It didn't sound genuine and that upset Zach because Frankie had been so nice to her all day, and yet she had repeatedly gave him a cold shoulder.

Frankie didn't react to her, if he did he had kept it to himself, and with a final smile aimed at Zach he left.

Zach waited until Frankie wasn't within hearing distance anymore before he turned to Veronica to confront her about her behavior from today. Veronica however also had something to say and had beaten him to it.

"You like him, don't you?" It sounded more like she was stating a fact than asking him whether it was true or not.

His automatic 'no'  got stuck in his throat for a second as he was caught by surprise by the question.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell made you think that?" Zach asked shocked, because he didn't like Frankie, and if she thought she saw something that made her think that she obviously needed to get her eyes checked.

"Oh come on, you've barely paid any attention to me all morning, you laugh a little too hard at his jokes and you follow him around like a puppy. It's a little weird."

"It's nothing, okay?" Zach assured her, "He's just a really cool guy, he –" What was the best way to describe his, totally platonic, feelings for Frankie? Only one thing came to mind. "– he mesmerizes me."

"He mesmerizes you?" Veronica repeated with a lifted eyebrow, "I don't know what kind of point you're trying to make, but it isn't looking so good for team 'I don't like Frankie' right now."

"Fine, whatever. You don't get our friendship."

"Obviously."

"Cool, so let's not talk about it anymore."

"You're being so defensive about the subject, it makes me even more curious."

With a sigh Zach picked up his pace, he really wanted to be done with this conversation as he had settled it in his mind the other day. It was like he had a mantra inside of his head constantly reminding him that he didn’t like Frankie. They were great friends. He was leaving in a couple of days. It didn’t matter.

“Why do you care so much?” he asked her.

"I had to fight for your attention today, Zach," Veronica said as she tried to keep up with him,  "I like a little hard to get, but you brought it to a whole new level. There has to be something going on. I couldn't put my finger on it, but now I can't think of any other reason why you would ignore me like that."

"I didn't ignore you," Zach defended himself.

"When we hung out before you were actually interested in me and asked me questions. Can't say today was the same."

"That was because you threw yourself at me from the start and somebody had to include Frankie into the conversation."

"I told you, I refuse to be a third wheel."

"You weren't a third wheel," Zach sighed. He got the overwhelming urge to run his hands across his face and through his hair, but the weight of the shopping bags made it impossible to do so.

"You two gravitate towards each other."

"How can I prove to you that there is nothing going?" Zach pleaded.

"Take me on a date," Veronica said without hesitation. She smiled sweetly and, probably trying to be flirty, sensually brushed her hair back behind her ear.

"Okay, I will," Zach agreed, "We've got all day tomorrow, be prepared to fall in love with me."

"I'm not that easy, Rance," Veronica smiled. She made a move that looked like she wanted to hold his hand, but she brushed against the plastic from the shopping bags instead.

"Oh my god, let me hold some!" She said shocked, and suddenly the nice version of her was back again, the version that he could see himself date, maybe, if she didn't talk to much… or demanded anything.

"Where has the nice side of you been all day?" He dared to ask.

"I'm sorry," Veronica sighed, "I get a little bitchy whenever I feel like I have competition. Tell Frankie I'm sorry, okay? He seemed really nice."

"I will, and he will be happy to hear that."

"Cool, now let's do some more exploring!"

                                                                

* * *

 

It's only when Zach is on his way to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet his mom that he realized he didn't know if Veronica had told her anything.

At first everything seemed to be fine, Jill greeted him with a hug and a kiss on his cheek before walking inside and taking a seat.

"So, how was your day with Veronica?" She asked after the waiter had noted their orders.

"It was fun, we went to China Town."

"Oh, that's nice! What did you see?"

"Almost everything, we've been there the entire day."

"That's a first," his mom mumbled under her breath and Zach knew he had to be the one to bring it up.

"So, Veronica was standing in front of the hotel this morning."

"Oh? And why is that so unusual?" Jill played innocent.

"She told me about you guy's phone call."

With a sigh Jill dropped her act.

"I just hope you have a good reason, Zachary. My rules were not unreasonable –  "

"Considering that I'm 23, they are a little," Zach interrupted her.

"As long as you live under my roof you will obey to my rules."

"I honestly just wanted to have some time for myself, okay? So we meet around noon. When you saw me go outside I just went to grab some breakfast," Zach lied. Well, half of it was a lie. He hoped to god that his mom wouldn't see through him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was necessary," Zach answered while slowly releasing the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. "We're going on a date tomorrow, so you got your way by the way."

This news made Jill happier than Zach thought it should. Was she so desperate for a daughter-in-law, or did she just want her son to have somebody else to spend time with besides his friends back in Florida? As if it mattered who he befriended here. He would probably never see her again after this week. He could live with that, but how could he go a day without Frankie's silly characters that he would whip out at random times while walking through the city? Tomorrow would be a dry run and he couldn't wait for the day to be over.

"Do you have an idea of what you want to do with her?" Jill asked.

"I honestly have no idea; she's the one showing me around, I don't know the first thing about this city aside from the things we’ve seen before and that wouldn't make a fun date."

"It's supposed to be a very rainy day tomorrow, so I'd suggest museums."

"Like?"

"The Met, MOMA, Natural History, the options are endless."

"Ok. Thanks, mom," Zach said with a slight smile. He loved her, honestly, but sometimes she could be a bit too controlling.

"I just want you to have fun, honey," Jill assured her son. She placed her hand on Zach’s just before they were interrupted by a waiter with their food.

"I know," Zach said before he dove in.

‘Fun’ wasn't a date with Veronica though, if he had to be completely honest with himself. He didn't know what the fuck was wrong with him because she was gorgeous and when he would eventually tekst his bro’s later that night, they would be jealous, no doubt. He decided that he had to give her a final chance tomorrow. If he still felt indifferent to her at the end of the date, they would part ways at friends. No use in forcing feelings for somebody that lived hours away.

He was just going to enjoy himself tomorrow and miss Frankie. That sounded like a great plan.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter eight! So sorry it took a while, I wish I could do the regular updating-thing some authors are ridiculous good at, but I just don't know how. We're nearing the end! Only a couple more chapters left. 
> 
> Love for Zankie-bae and please let me know if you enjoyed the chapter! <3

His mom was right; it was indeed a rainy day. The temperature barely dropped though, so it was still hot outside which made it difficult to dress accordingly. In the end, Zach settled for jeans and one of the new shirts Veronica had bought for him. He put on a hoody over the shirt so his arms wouldn't get wet and a hat so his hair wouldn't become a mess.

Veronica was already waiting for him outside. She had opted for a tight fitting skirt with a leather-like texture. A white translucent shirt over a white top were tucked into it. She had a pair of black boots with thick heels on her feet. This entire outfit was protected from the rain by a black umbrella with tiny white Chanel logo's scattered across it. There hadn't been one day so far yet where she didn't look like she had walked to him straight from a catwalk.

Zach had texted a couple of pictures of her and them together to the guys yesterday. The were jealous, just like he had thought. It made him feel oddly proud.

"You look amazing," he told her.

"Thank you," Veronica said admiring her own outfit too. She then looked Zach up and down and continued with "You look… decent…" While keeping her eyes fixed on the pink baseball hat Zach had casually placed sideways on his head. It didn't match the green polo he was wearing, but because he was also wearing one of the shorts that Veronica had bought, she choose to tolerate the outfit.

"I didn't know if you would be able to plan a date in a foreign city, so I took the liberty of  looking up some things to do."

"Not necessary," Zach said proudly, "I have it all planned out. And all the costs will also be covered by me." Actually by his mom, but she didn’t need to know that.

"I'm pleasantly surprised," Veronica said with an approving nod, "but we live in the twenty-first century, so I want to pay for something, too."

"That's cool," Zach agreed, "just let me know when and what."

"I will. So where will we go?"

"MoMa, but that will just be out first stop of the day."

"Sounds great! I'll take us there."

"Nope, follow my lead please," Zach told her with a smug look on his face.

He had spent the night studying google maps, virtually walking from his hotel to the museum. Veronica may be an inhabitant, but Zach still wanted to feel like a hero and lead his date through the big city. Luckily, it wasn't that hard. He just had to go straight ahead, cross Time's Square, left on 6th Avenue, and then right on West 53rd.

"Aren't you full of surprises today?" Veronica giggled as she took a hold of Zach’s arm and raised her umbrella to fit the both of them underneath it.

"Now you have no reason to wear the stupid hat anymore."

"One more comment on my wardrobe choices and I'm leaving it on the entire day."

"Please don't, it really doesn't match your shirt at all."

"What was that? Another comment?" 

Veronica rolled her eyes and shook her head, but her smile never wavered.

 

* * *

 

Taking Veronica to museums turned out to be the best decision he (well, actually his moms’, but he didn’t want to admit that she was right, she would never make him forget) had ever made. Veronica turned out to be quite the art geek. At the MoMA, she stared at the collections until her eyes felt strained, and at the MET, she loved each new painting more than the last. Zach didn’t really see why people would like to spend their days just looking at paint on canvasses, yet Veronica clearly did, and she had some fun facts about artists that made his day a little better.

They had lunched in a bistro called ‘Bistro New York’ where Veronica insisted she wanted to pay, and then took a little walk through Central Park.

Zach hadn't had any predictions prior to going on the date, but he had more fun than he thought he would have. They had enough mutual friends from their past they could gossip about and if that subject ran dry they entertained themselves by imagining the lives and conversations of strangers that passed them by.

It was almost five p.m. when they were back in front of The Paramount.

"I had a lot of fun today Zach," Veronica told him. She tightened her hold on his hand and swung their arms back and forth between the two of them. "I knew you could be a decent person."

"I held back a lot," Zach joked back at her.

"Sure you did."

They came to a halt in front of the hotel and Zach’s minded started to race. How were they going to part ways? A handshake was out of the question. Maybe a hug was appropriate? He started to lean forward to hug her when Veronica had other ideas and pressed her lips against Zach's.

Zach didn't know how to react, only his eyes closed as an automatic reaction but the rest of his body stiffened. Only after Veronica placed her hands on his upper arms and slowly moved them up until she had them wrapped around the back of his neck he melted again and let his arms rest around the lower part of her back.

He didn't know how long the kiss lasted. He tried to enjoy it, but the cold metal of her rings were pressing into his neck and her perfume (that was a tad to strong for his liking) was infiltrading his nose.

"I'll see you tomorrow, cutie," Veronica smiled and she left after a final boop on his nose.

Zach could still taste her Strawberry lip gloss, even after having had dinner with his mom 

Speaking of his mom, Zach was afraid she was about to start planning a wedding he didn't want to have, she was so happy. The interrogation part had been annoying, having to describe the entire day in great detail, but deep inside Zach really just wanted to be a good son, and Jill was so proud of him that he couldn't afford to be annoyed so he endured her questions and well meaning, but really not needed, dating advice.

 

* * *

 

 

After such an active day, just sitting inside of his hotel room was extremely boring. Zach tried to watch some tv, but there were only limited free channels available, the ones that did show promis he had to pay for, of course. At last, he turned the TV off as he really didn't care about whether Ashley with her soon-to-be military husband would say yes to the dress or not. It wasn't late enough to go to sleep yet, and even if it had been, he wasn't tired.

An annoyed groan escaped his mouth as he threw himself onto his king sized bed and rubbed his temple while trying not to think about his day with Veronica or the ending of it, it only left him confused.

Desperate for a distraction Zach happily jumped up from his bed to pick up his phone that had started ringing. Frankie's phone number appeared on the display and Zach didn't hesitate a second before picking up.

"Frankie," he breathed, somehow it was as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"Please tell me you're free tonight." Frankie said without so much of a greeting, getting straight to the point.

"I'm free tonight."

"Good, 'cause I'm throwing a party and I need you to be here. It doesn't feel right without you."

He didn't need to be told twice. "I'm on my way."

"Perfect, see you soon."

Not long after they ended their conversation Zach found himself in front of Frankie’s building ringing the bell. Frankie tried to explain how he had to get to his floor through the intercom, but he was hard to understand because of the loud music that was drowning out his voice. Luckily Zach didn't need the directions in the end since the same music that had made the instructions inaudible were great at guiding him to the right door. It wasn't closed all the way, so he could walk right into the apartment.

Frankie was a couple of feet away from said door, eyeing it curiously. He made a straight line for Zach the moment he entered the room and threw his arms around him.

"I really missed you today," Frankie told him with his lips next to his ears, sending all kinds of shivers done Zach's spine.

"I missed you too."

They kept hugging for a couple more seconds, that could've also been hours, before Frankie put distance between them and took his hand instead.

"You have to meet my friends!" He shouted to Zach over the voice of Madonna that came from the speakers.

The first group Zach was guided to stood right about where Frankie had been before he had walked up to him.

"This is Dominic and that is Lauren," Frankie introduced them while Zach give them a quick handshake. "Guys, this is Zach!"

Zach half expected Frankie to give him more of an introduction, but that was all he got. Dominic smiled at him and returned to his conversation whereas Lauren looked him up and down with a slight smirk before she diverted her attention back to the conversation too. Frankie tightened his hold on Zach's hand and pulled him further into the crowd. It took Zach five steps before he thought that maybe Frankie's friends didn't need more information about him because from the look in their eyes he could tell that they already knew. Had Frankie talked about him?

They came to a stop next to a ceiling high window covering the entire back wall, which provided the guests with a beautiful view of the skyline of New York City. Zach almost lost himself in the street and building lights when Frankie pulled him back into the real word by squeezing his hand.

“Zach, here are a couple of other people you need to meet. Jon-Erik and Marissa.”

Yet again there was no further introduction needed as they both immediately shook his hand with a pleased smiles and they exchanged ‘nice to meet you's’.

Zach desperately wanted to ask Frankie what they knew and how much he had told them but was interrupted by the woman, Marissa, who told Frankie that she had to show Frankie something and pulled him with her. Before he disappeared into the crowd, Frankie quickly ordered Jon-Erik to take care of Zach until he returned.

 "Well, you heard the boss," Jon-Erik laughed as he signed something to the guy next to him. Zach noticed they were standing close to a bar that was situated along the wall. The man Jon-Erik had commucated with came back with a glass which Jon-Erik pushed into Zach’s hands 

"What is this?" Zach asked as he sniffed it.

 "It's a Mojito, now drink it and let the party start!"

 

* * *

 

To Zach’s disappointment Frankie never got back to him. Zach watched over the rim of his second 'I don't care, surprise me,' drink how the man went from guest to guest, talked with groups, laughed with men (most of them only partially dressed) and hugged women, never even coming close to where Zach was slumped in a chair next to the beautiful, large window.

His kicked-puppy look didn't go unnoticed by his chaperone of the night as he felt a comforting hand settle on his right shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Jon-Erik asked as he took a seat next to Zach.

The rational side of Zach was less on point now that there was a little alcohol in his body, so whatever lie he would have normally told got stuck in his throat and instead he said, "I don't like that Frankie isn't paying attention to me."

"And why is that?"

"Because I am here for him, because I like him –"

The words were out of his mouth before he knew it and even in his drunken state of mind he was aware that this was something he shouldn't admit to himself, let alone say out loud.

"You do now, huh?" Jon-Erik said with a slight smirk.

"I need another drink," Zach mumbled as he shot up from his seat and almost fell down again.

"Take it easy, man," Jon-Erik said as he took a hold of Zach's shoulders and helped to steady him, "maybe you've had enough for tonight."

"I haven't had nearly enough, now if you'll excuse me -"

Jon-Erik let himself be easily pushed out of the way. "We'll continue this conversation when you have your drink," he told Zach.

"I have no idea what conversation you are talking about," Zach stated before he made his way back to the bar.

"Another surprise drink for you, sir?" The man behind the bar asked.

"Make it something low-alcohol, please," Jon-Erik instructed from where he stood behind Zach.

"I don't need your supervision," Zach snapped at the man while accepting the orange liquid that was handed to him.

"Just following the orders, I have to take care of you."

“Whatever,” Zach growled with a slight slur while he let his body fall back into the chair he sat in before.

“So you like Frankie?” Jon-Erik asked as he sat down on the edge of a low table in front of Zach.

“Where did you get that from?”

“Those were literary your words.”

Zach quickly downed his drink. He didn’t taste any alcohol and he didn’t like it. Without a word he stood up again and walked towards the bar. This time he changed his path a little and made sure to disappear into the crowd so Jon-Erik couldn’t catch him.

It took him one more drink before he didn’t care anymore, the room around him was spinning and he had to be careful with the placing of his feet while he walked so he wouldn’t fall, but he felt absolutely wonderful. Making sure to hold on to furniture to steady himself he made his way back to Jon-Erik.

“Oh my god, you’re wasted,” the man laughed as soon as Zach tried to sit down in his chair but ended up on the ground instead.

“Did you know that Frankie smells really good?” Zach slurred while he pulled himself up and into the chair at last.

“Does he?”

“Yes. And his hands are so soft, but also cold. Did you know he has this thing? That’s why they’re cold, but I don’t mind.”

“I’m aware, yes.”

“He also sings really pretty and does funny voices.”

“That does sound like Frankie.”

“He’s the star of Broadway.”

“He sure is…” Jon-Erik eyed him for a second before continuing, “So you like him?”

“I do,” Zach sighed, no longer able to hold back, “At least I think I do. I’m pretty sure.”

“Since when?”

“Since we – Frankie!” Zach did a little bounce in his seat when the man had finally found him again. “You were gone for so long,” he slurred with a little pout.

“Wow, you’re drunk,” Frankie giggled as he took Zach’s cup away from him, “I’ll get you some water.”

“It’s okay, I’ll manage,” Zach said as he put his hands on Frankie’s waist and pulled him onto his lap. 

“I guess this is fine, too,” Frankie smiled while he made himself comfortable. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah. The music is nice and I talked with Johnny over here,” Zach tried to point at Jon-Erik across from him with a sloppy grin, but had trouble steadying his arm, so he gave up.

“And what did you talk about?”

“Youuu,” Zach giggled while Jon-Erik shook his head at him with an amused smile. 

Frankie watched the exchange with lifted eyebrows and a tiny smile on his lips but didn’t say anything else about it. What he also saw was how out of the world Zach looked. Frankie comfortingly ran his hand through Zach’s messy hairdo and then left his hand linger on the base of his neck.

"I'm going to get you some water now, sweetie," Frankie told him with a final little pinch in his neck.

"You're so far gone," Jon-Erik joked after Frankie had left.

"Shu’ up," Zach slurred while he reached for the cup that Frankie had taken away from him and finished it at last. Apparently the glass of water Frankie brought him seconds later had been a lost cause, as that was the final thing that Zach was able to  remember from that night.

 

* * *

 

The sudden brightness of the sunlight that was shining behind his closed eyes woke Zach up. The first couple of seconds he felt fine, until a throbbing headache slowly made it's presence known by pushing against the sides of his head. Next, he realized that the light was wrong. In his hotel room it came from the left, but when he slowly blinked his eyes open, he looked into an unfamiliar room with windows on the right. Panic shot through his veins as he jumped out of the strange bed he had been lying in and looked into the bedroom. Where the hell was he?

"I thought I heard something. Good morning sleepy head," Frankie greeted him as he poked his head through the doorway.

"Where am I?"

"You're at my apartment. I threw a party last night and you got completely wasted so I refused to let you walk back to your hotel and let you crash here."

"Oh…"

"Yeah," Frankie smiled as he walked further into the room and Zach saw he was holding cutlery. "I hoped you would wake up, I made us some breakfast."

"You didn't have to."

"I know, but I wanted to. Now, I'm almost done with setting the table. I put your shirt and pants over the back of the chair in the corner. Get dressed and join me, please."

"You undressed me?" Zach asked in shock.

"Didn't have to. You're the stripper kind of drunk," Frankie said with a wink and he disappeared again.

Zach took a couple more minutes for himself so he could calm down before he got dressed and entered the living room. The delicious smell of bacon, scrambled eggs and freshly baked bread filled the room.

"You sit over there," Frankie ordered him as he pointed to the left side of the table where a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a tall glass water were placed next to the platter. "Some non-alcoholic liquid will do you good."

"Thank you so much,” he meant it from the bottom of his heart, Frankie was too good to be true some days.

"It's nothing."

A basket with bread that was placed next to the eggs completed the table, and Frankie took his seat as well.

"Dive in," he said and Zach did just that. Frankie however held back. He kept looking at Zach, opening his mouth as if he wanted to ask something but then looked down to his plate again and tore of pieces off his bread that he played with for sometime before he finally ate them. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Ib thwere sometwing wong?" Zach asked with his mouth full of food.

"No, I just - When you woke up you didn't know where you were so I was wondering how much you remembered of last night?"

"I remember meeting your friends, I know I've talked to Jon-Erik almost the entire night. I remember drinking a lot and you handing me water, that's pretty much it."

"Do you remember what you talked about with Jon?"

He wasn't able to recall their conversations for a couple of blissful seconds before the memories made their way back into his brain. Missing Frankie. Frankie kept talking with other people. Why didn't he come back? Liking Frankie. He liked Frankie.

"Nothing is coming to mind, why?" Zach lied while looking everywhere but at the man in front of him.

He immediately regretted not telling the truth when he saw Frankie’s face fall. It wasn’t that obvious, but Zach still noticed it. He hated hurting Frankie.

“I do remind some of it, actually. It’s kinda vague. How much have you heard?”

“Jon told me some of what you said, but he didn’t want to tell all.”

“So what did he say?”

A slight blush formed on Frankie’s cheeks before he spoke again. “That you liked the way I smell, that my hands are soft, how I am the star of Broadway. You confessed to him that you think my characters are hilarious and that New York was just a bunch of buildings but that I made it fun for you. How you noticed that my breath always so fresh.”

“Yeah, you see, I only remember, like, half of that,” Zach mumbled while he quickly preoccupied himself with drinking his orange juice.

“You were really drunk, weren’t you?”

“You could say that.”

It was quiet for a little while as Frankie focussed on preparing his sandwich. Zach eyed him curiously, something in the air around them had changed, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Did you know that some studies say that people tell the truth when they’re drunk?” Frankie asked casually.

“I’ve heard about that before, yes.”

It got quiet again. Frankie played with the bread crumbs on his plate.

“Were you?”

"Were I what?"

"Telling the truth?"

"I… Ahmm.. – "

"Because, you know, I know what it sounds like and I don't know - I didn't think much of it at first, sure you're cute but you also gave me this messed up, kinda straight vibe so I didn't do anything, but I mean, I wanted to. And then Jon tells me all these things you told him and it's so darn cute. You make me feel all these things and you don't even have to try – "

His defense system rose automatically, he couldn't help it. Frankie was right there, talking about things Zach wasn't ready to discuss. Sure, he had been the one to bring up the subject last night, but he had been in no state of mind to think about the consequence of his words.

"I had a date with Veronica yesterday," Zach interrupted Frankie.

Frankie stopped in the midst of his speech and looked like a deer caught in headlights as he searched for an appropriate response.

"Oh. How was it?"

"More fun than I had anticipated and, uhm, we - we kissed."

Frankie put on a smile, but it was obviously, and painfully, fake as Zach saw how it quivered for a second before he put it back on.

"So, do you like her?"

Simple question. Still, it wasn't easy to answer.

"I'm not really sure -"

"So why are you telling me?"

"I don't know, you were just saying all these things and… I'm just not like ‘that.'"

"Oh wow…" Frankie said as he let his hand drop into the table with a loud bang. Where minutes before he could only nervously stare at his plate, right now he had no problem looking Zach dead in the eyes. "Let me tell you something. If you find yourself unable to say it out loud, you're probably exactly like 'that' but so far into the closet that Lucy is about to find you and ask you for tips on how to save Narnia. I don't have time for this, you can go now."

"Frankie, I'm sorry," Zach muttered, but Frankie didn't want to hear it as he stood up and walked towards the door to open it for him. Zach followed hesitantly.

"You may be sorry, but that doesn't remove your head out of your ass. I have very little patiece when it comes to men who hide behind a mask and are afraid to show their true feelings. Have a safe flight back to Florida, Zach. Goodbye."

Those were the final words he heard before the door of Frankie's apartment slammed into Zach’s face.

Defeated, Zach made his way back to his hotel room. Tears burned in the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

His phone was dead, so the first thing he did was plug it in. He had enough time to change into some fresh clothes and wash his face before it came to life again, and notifications popped up telling him he had four missed calls. All from Veronica. 

Zach cursed under his breath and read the two texts Veronica had sent.

_  
'I'm waiting for you, don't take too long please!' Veronica (8:32)_

_‘You better call me back and have a good explanation, asshole.’ Veronica (9:17)_  


“Oh fuck,” Zach breathed. He quickly called her back, he didn't want her to hate him just after they had become better friends over the course of the last couple of days.

“You're alive,” she said as she answered the phone. There was no emotion in her voice, which meant that she was pissed.

“I can explain,” Zach pleaded.

“Why you stood me up? You better!”

A little reluctant Zach began his story. “Frankie threw a party last night and he invited me. I got really drunk so he made me crash there, my phone died sometime during the night, I only just saw your texts and calls, I'm sorry."

“It's a shitty excuse, but I believe you…”

“Thank you."

“I went shopping, but I can be at the hotel in 45 minutes?”

“I don't really feel like sight seeing today.” Zach confessed.

“You're leaving tomorrow, are you sure?”

“Yeah I think I've seen enough for now.”

“… Zach are you avoiding me?”

“I'm not I swear — ”

“'Cause if you are you really are an asshole.”

“Not avoiding you. I just wanna do my own thing for a little, okay?”

Silence. Even though they were on the phone Zach could feel her eyes burn into his skin.

“I'm getting a strong feeling that you're not telling me something. Spill or I can be at the hotel in 15.”

“Fine, Frankie and I – we had a fight, just now. I need to clear my head a little, I won't be a lot of fun to be around.”

“I see.”

“What?”

“No, it's just fascinating to see how much he and his opinion matter to you.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Zach, no matter how much I wish it worked like that, one date isn't going to make you attraked to me. I tried, but you weren't into the kiss. I'm not saying anything else, just… What you said, go clear your head.”

“I'm about to, have fun shopping.”

“Oh, I will. Decide what makes you the happiest and go after that, Zach. Your own happiness is the most important.”

“You're really awesome, did you know that?”

Veronica giggled. “Vaguely aware, yes. I'll talk to you later."

“Bye.”

Zach hang up and there were tears in his eyes again, but they weren’t sad tears. He actually felt oddly relieved after this call, even though he had some things to sort out before he got onto the plane tomorrow. He hoped to god that he’d find a way to make up with Frankie by then. That was the only thing that really mattered.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter nine which is also the second-to-last chapter. I'll save the more emotional notes for the last chapter but just, thank you guys so much for reading (if you haven't given up on me already because I take forever to update :\\)
> 
> Zankie-bae saves me from the embarrassing typos I make because English is not my first language. Give her some love on tumblr :)

The only thing Zach could think of to do was roam around the little part of New York he actually knew by now. This meant a few rounds around Times square before he decided to walk the the street that he had wandered off on his first day in this big city.  
Out of the corner of his eyes, the the bright colors of M&M World called his name, and with nothing else to do, he went inside. Fifteen minutes later, he left with some gifts for Pizzle and his dad; he couldn’t possibly go wrong with chocolate.

He then continued his original path and watched others as they made their way through the crowd, to work, to loved ones, to school, or to home. Zach didn’t have a destination in mind, and before he knew it, he lifted his head and saw that he had ended up in front of 54 Below.

With a sigh, Zach turned his back to the building and started to make his way back. His mind raced with possible ways this wonderful week could end, and he didn’t like any of them. The way his restless mind kept shooting possibilities at him started to cause a headache, and for a spilt second, there was nowhere he’d rather be than in the Florida sun.

He hadn’t been homesick before, but at this point, there was little he wouldn’t do to stand on a golf course with a club in his hands so that he could channel all his anger and confusion in hitting the ball as hard as possible. When he watched the ball fly through the air, it was as if for a little moment his problems flew away with it. After that, he’d have to chase the ball down the course. Once he got the ball in the hole, he felt like they were gone. That was only in his head, of course, and definitely not in real life, but it was a sick game he had been playing with himself for a while now that fixed absolutely nothing except the stress he felt about his problems. It made other people think he was emotionally distant sometimes.

With the absence of his golf clubs for the first time ever, he actually had to sort out his feelings, and he wasn’t good at it. Add that with the still present headache that pulsed from behind his eyes made him go right back to the comfort of his hotel room where he could sleep out his hangover a little more.  
  


* * *

  
The second time Zach opened his eyes that day was with the dim light of the afternoon sun. Without checking the time, he knew he had just slept for easily four hours, which meant he had nearly wasted his entire day. His heart started to race immediately when he realized that he kept losing precious time that he could use to make up with Frankie.

His stomach screamed at him to eat, and his legs were still asleep as he stumbled to the dresser that was situated across from his bed to reach for his phone. Within two-seconds he had found Frankie’s number underneath ‘recent.’ A quick glimpse into the mirror told him that his hair looked like shit, so he quickly ran his hands through it hoping it would be tamed.

When he heard the phone ring he held his breath, and he held it all the way until the automatic voice told him that the number he tried to reach was not available at this moment. A strange pang shot through his heart as he grabbed his coat from the coat peg and made his way outside, not lowering his phone from his ear he redailed Frankies number.  
  


* * *

  
Zach knew he was desperate when he had begged Veronica through text to join him in the lunchroom where he was restlessly picking away at his bagel. If he talked to somebody instead of himself he would at least feel a little bit less like a creep.

“I think I’m losing my mind,” Zach groaned with his head in his hands the moment after Veronica had joined him at his table.

“You definitely look like it,” Veronica agreed.

He heard the faint noise of a plate scraping across the table. When he lifted his head a couple of inches, he saw that Veronica was in process of cutting his bagel in half. She kept the untouched part for herself and slid the other half back to Zach.

“Why is this fight killing you so much? You’re usually all sarcasm and awful jokes; it really weird to see you so bumped out.”

“I never had to deal with really anything, life in Florida is so easy, and now I have all these _thoughts_ and _feelings_ that I don’t know what to do with. I’m scared of the unknown and not knowing at the same time. All I need right now is to talk to Frankie but he isn’t _picking up is goddamn phone_ ,” Zach hissed as he eyed his phone, begging it to show him an incoming call.

“Honey,” Veronica sighed, “grow up.”

“What?” Zach snapped as his head shot up from the table, “Why?”

“You’re dealing with basic human problems and emotions here; you’re not the first to ever feel this way. It may be the first time for you, but that doesn’t make you special. That being said,” she continued as she snatched Zach’s phone from the table and held onto it, “there are other ways to contact someone than through the phone. Confront him, then he won’t be able to ignore you.”

“I would, but I don’t know where he is.”

Veronica seemed to think about this for a second before she hit the table with her flat hand, letting the entire room know that she had an idea.

“He has the Broadway thing, right? He may wander around the city by day, but at night, you can at least be a hundred precent sure that he’s at the theater.”

“Wow, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re going crazy, remember?” she smiled sweetly but mockingly at the same time.

Zach lowered his head in embarrassment for a second while running his hands through the wild mop he called his hair.

“Hey,” Veronica said as she gave him a little nudge with the tip of her toes against his ankle, “it’s gonna be okay.”

“Why are you so nice to me?” Zach needed to know. This was a side of her he had seen very little of over the passed few days. She usually was all ‘better than thou’ and spoiled daddy’s girl.

“Can’t I be nice to a friend?”

“Are we though?”

“What?”

“Friends. Are we friends?”

“I’d like to think so, yes,” Veronica said, a little taken back by Zach’s doubt. “You may be gay but – “

“I wouldn’t say that,” Zach interrupted her.

“Oh, sure. Bi, pan or… Frankiesexual, it doesn’t matter. Just because our date didn’t work out doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy spending time with you. I think there’s a reason that we’ve found each other again after all these years.”

“That reason being my mom trying to set me up,” Zach reminded her.

“Shush, I want to believe there is more to it.”

Zach shook his head at her stubbornness while Veronica unlocked Zach’s phone, that she still had in her possession, to check the time.

“I got to go,” she announced immediately after she saw how late it was, “I have a date.”

“Wha?” was the only thing Zach was able to breathe out as he shot her an indignant look. “We just went out. Way to make a guy feel special.”

“What can I say? You weren’t the one, so maybe this one is. Here.” She slid his phone back to him. “Try one more time, if he doesn’t answer, you know where you can find him tonight.”

“Thank you, honestly.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Veronica smiled with a short squeeze to Zach’s hand that was resting on the table.

Now that he felt less anxious (just a little bit), his appetite had returned, and he finished his half of the bagel before he left a couple of dollars on the table and made his way to Central Park where he dialed Frankie’s number for one last time. He didn’t pick up, so Zach left his fourth voicemail of the evening.

“Frankie, I know you’re preparing for your performance now, but you weren’t before, so the chances are that you’ve been ignoring me... I left you a bunch of messages, but I don’t know if you’re the kind of person that listens to their voicemails or not. I need to talk to you. The thought of leaving New York while we’re fighting is unbearable. It would be such a waste too, because you're amazing, and even though we may never see each other again, knowing that we parted on good terms will make it easier for me to sleep at night. If you won't answer my calls, I'll come to you." He took a deep breath as he forced all the negative ways the night could end out of his head. "I'll be at your stage-door tonight, and won't leave until we've talked."

There was more that he wanted to say, but the voicemail cut him off and ended the call. Maybe it was for the better.

Just as he pocketed his phone, it started to buzz. With a speed he didn’t even know he had he snatched the thing right out of his pocket. He had never before been so disappointed at seeing his mother’s number on his screen.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, Mom. How are you,” she corrected him.

“Hey, Mom, how are you,” Zach repeated with a sigh.

“I’m great, thanks! Just called to finalize our plans for this evening. What do you want your last dinner in New York City to be? I just got my paycheck, so if you’re up to it, we can go somewhere fancy. Maybe we can even invite Veronica…?”

“She can’t, she has a date,” Zach said without thinking.

His mom was quiet for a second. Zach could almost sense her confusion, and he wanted to hit himself for blurting it out.

“That’s rude,” she said, “didn’t you two just go on a date?”

Zach pulled a couple strands of grass out of the ground out of frustration. Why didn't he just lie? He was nowhere ready to come out to her; he didn't even know what he would come out as. Or how she would react.

"It's nothing," Zach tried to dismiss it.

"I"ll see you in fourty-five minutes in front of the hotel. We'll talk over dinner."

It was a command, not a suggestion.

"Yes, Mom," he agreed while he threw away the grass that he had held on tight to in his fist. Most of it landed on his legs and shoes.

He disconnected the call and wiped the left over grass off of his clothes.

A quick glance showed him that he hadn't received any calls or texts while being on the phone with his mom. It was fine. Frankie wouldn't be able to ignore him when Zach confronted him after the play.  
  


* * *

  
“So, honey. How did you mess up so soon?”

Zach almost choked on his hamburger. Was his mom serious?

“Who says it's because of my doing? You're my mom, shouldn't you be on my side?”

“I want to be,” Jill said innocently while twirling the spaghetti in her tomato sauce, “I mean, you took her on that amazing date we planned out together. I don't see how she could turn you down after that."

He didn't know how much he could take of her interrogation. This was another reason why he longed to go back to Florida. It was strange, but in this big unknown city, he had relatively few places he could go to escape from his mom; whereas at home, he could disappear at friends’ places for days if he wanted to. It's not that he hated her; on the contrary, he was more of a momma's boy than he'd ever like to admit, but this trip reminded him why he needed days away; if given the chance, she would let herself get way to involved in his life.

“There is someone else,” Zach admitted reluctantly.

“Yeah, and she's dating him now instead of you,” Jill said with a roll of her eyes.

“Not for her. For me.”

What was he doing?

“Excuse me?”

He seriously wanted to stop talking, but at this point, his mom would be able to see through every lie.

“You know the first couple of days when I hadn't contacted Veronica yet? Well, that was because I met this guy, you probably know him by face, he's Franz in _Rock Of Ages_ …"

Zach took a short pause to catch his breath and gauge his mom's reaction, but her face betrayed little.

“I ran into him on the first day, and we kind of hit it off, so he offered to show me the city, and I accepted. That's why I hadn't called Veronica. Blah, blah, the days flew by, we became friends, but I said some stupid things, and now Frankie and I are in this fight. I can't get a hold of him, so I'm a little stressed out.”

“Zach,” his mother said indignantly, “as much as I want you to have other friends than those boys you hang out with at home, this is no way to treat a lady. No wonder she is seeing someone else now if you blew her off.”

“That's not…" It didn't even matter, apparently she didn't get it, and maybe that was for the better. With a sigh he changed the subject. “Did you get dad and Pizzle anything?”

She didn't buy it immediately. Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied Zach's face for a second. “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course I do,” Zach told her, he would never doubt that.

“Just checking,” Jill assured him before she bent down and picked up a plastic bag from the floor. “I got Peyton the cutest clothes,” she told him while showing them off piece by piece.

Just like that, the moment was over, but he didn't mind. Whatever that weird little moment was before made him believe that somehow things would be okay.  
  


* * *

  
Now that Zach was standing in front of the stage-door he realized with horror that he hadn't thought out his plan any further than this. Was Frankie even going to talk to him? What if he had taken the night off? What if he had quietly moved to Sydney? Maybe he had changed his name to start a new life to avoid him.

Maybe Zach should just leave.

He turned around to do just so only to collide with someone he vaguely recognized.

“Zach!” the woman said, happily surprised. She waited a couple of seconds before she understood that he didn't know her name.

“We met the other day at Frankie's party. I'm Lauren.”

“Riiiight! Lauren!”

“You don't remember me, do you? I wouldn't blame you," she giggled.

“What do you mean 'I wouldn't blame you'?” Zach asked, a little shocked. It then clicked that Frankie and John-Erik hadn't been the only people at the party. Oops.

“I'm not surprised that you don't remember anything.”

“Was I that obviously drunk? I mean, from what I remember, I was just laying low and chatting with John-Erik.”

“Yeah, until you reached your limit and gave us all a free striptease!”

Zach slowly felt his face turn into a tomato as his eyes widened. In his mind, it happened in Frankie's bedroom; it hadn't even occurred to him that he might have lost his cool it in a room full of people.

Lauren watched Zach's shock with an amused smile.

“Frankie stopped you from going all the way down to your birthday suit; he dragged you into his room with your hands still on the hem of your boxers. I would give him a big hug if I were you; you could've ended up naked on the internet somewhere.”

“Yeah, I will… If he will talk to me, that is,” Zach said with an awkward chuckle. He wanted to act as if it was nothing; he had been emotional enough today.

Lauren’s face hardened as she went into some sort of protection mode.

“What did you do?” she demanded with her hands on her hips.

“I… I just said some things this morning that I would love to take back and elaborate on, but he's been ignoring me.”

“And that happened this morning?”’

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Lauren had made up her mind, “you need to wait. Frankie is such a forgiving person, but only if you give him more time to work through his emotions.”

“That's the problem though, I don't have more time to give. I'm leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh, man, are you serious?” Lauren sighed as she ran her hands through her hair. She then mumbled, more so to herself than to Zach, “I need to fix this.”

“How much do you know?” Zach wondered out loud, why else would she feel obligated to help?

“Enough,” she assured him.

Before Zach could ask her any more questions, Lauren spun around on her heals and walked up to the man that was guarding the stage-door. She didn't need much time to convince him because within seconds, she signaled for Zach to join her as the man opened the gate.

“What kind of magic powers do you have?”

“I know people, now follow me.” There was no room for discussion as Lauren grabbed his hand and maneuvered them through a series of tight hallways and small rooms filled with people.

Zach was incredibly disoriented as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. Before he knew it, Lauren had pushed him into a room. Lauren stayed behind and knocked on the doorframe and then disappeared into the hallway again.

“I swear, I don’t know where they hid your shirt, Chester, I – Oh,” Frankie turned around while he answered to the person he thought had just knocked on the door, but he froze when he saw who actually stood there.

“I’d like you to leave,” he said as he turned back around and finished removing his makeup.

“I almost did, but I wasn’t able to get a hold of you all day, so you left me no choice.”

Frankie eyed him in the mirror before he looked back at his own reflection. “I got your voicemails, all hundred of them.”

“So?”

“I don’t know what you want from me.” Frankie sighed, “Can’t we deal with this another time? I’m still pissed at you.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow, Frankie”

“Oh, yeah, I remember.”

“So, please just listen to me, okay? You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

Frankie gave him a quick nod while he went on to fix his hair.

“I'll start with an ‘I’m sorry,’ okay? The last couple of days have been amazing and so much fun. You’ve really opened me up to this whole new world, and with that, I don’t mean just New York City. I will not even try to excuse my behavior this morning; I just need you to understand that before meeting you, I have never thought of myself asanything other than straight, so when the possibility of me liking you became something I wasn’t able to ignore anymore, I freaked out. Not visible to the world, just inside of my head mostly. I still have a hard time placing it or talking about it, but if that’s what I need to do in order to part ways with you as friends, I’ll do it.”

“You’ll do what exactly?”

“Talk about it? I don’t know, maybe you have some questions?”

Now that he had said what he wanted to say, he realized that, yet again, he hadn’t planned beyond this moment. When would he learn?

“I get figuring out your sexuality is tough. I’ve been there.” Frankie’s voice was no longer harsh and distant but more sympathetic and soft. “It’s just that I’ve given a ‘straight’ man a chance before and that didn’t end well for me. I swore to myself that day that I would protect myself from that kind of pain.”

“That’s it though, I don’t want to hurt you, but I did, and that’s why I’m here. I’m trying to fix it. I'm not like that other guy who broke your heart, I swear." Frustrated he combed a hand through his hair. There had to be something he could say to make every doubt on both their parts go away. Why was apologizing so hard? "If we were in one of those chick flicks we’d be all cool again right now.” He sighed.

“We’re not in a movie though,” Frankie said sympathetically and turned around to face Zach for the first time during their conversation.

“No, we're not. What I’m trying to say is that it would mean an awful lot to me if we’re okay when I leave tomorrow.”

“Has this emotional side of you been hiding underneath the Zach-Attack the entire time?” Frankie joked, obviously changing the subject to show him that they were okay again.

“Please stop with that name.” He tried to keep a straight face but found it impossible because Frankie could call him anything as long as it meant that they were talking again.

Frankie shook his head in amusement before he got up to give Zach a brief hug, and then he finished putting away his makeup.

“So, you’re leaving tomorrow?” he asked while assorting several jars full glitter.

“Yeah, the plane leaves about noon, so we’ll leave early to arrive at JFK on time.”

“Do you feel like you've seen enough of the city?”

“I think so.”

“You've seen all the main touristy things; they are the most important things to see the first time you get here. There is one place that I love though, and I wish you could've seen it.”

“Is there no time? I've got the entire morning.”

“It's really beautiful at sunset, so that won't work.”

“What about sunrise?” Zach knew that he was pushing his luck, but there wasn't a lot he wouldn't do to hang out with Frankie one final time.

“Sunrise is really early. Are you sure?”

“I just want to see you one final time before I leave.”

No more backtracking, he had to face his feelings because if he kept pushing everything away, his chances of ending up somewhere alone and dissatisfied with life increased exponentially.

“Okay,” Frankie agreed with a blinding smile. He was so obviously happy with the current situation Zach wouldn't dare to second guess this new attitude. “Are you ready?” Frankie then asked.

“Ready for what?”

“Ready to face a mob of fangirls at the stage-door.”

Zach hadn't thought for a second about the fact that coming in this way also meant leaving this way.

“Err…”

“It's going to be okay, trust me,” Frankie told him while he put his backpack on his back and took Zach's hand.  
  


* * *

  
“I don't recognize him, was he in the play?”

“Who is that?”

“Did they just hold hands?”

“Who is that?”

“Who is that?”

Even through all the loud voices and squeals Zach could clearly hear all the questions that were about him. Even though he knew nobody was here for him, walking outside and being greeted by the big crowd was something Zach could definitely get used to. It made him feel extremely powerful.

“Where do you want me to go?” Zach asked Frankie with a slightly raised voice so he was audible over a girl that was almost crying and furiously photographing.

“Maybe you can – ” but before Frankie could finish his sentence, Zach was pulled away by the hood of his jacked.

“I got it!” he recognized Lauren’s voice behind him.

“Thank you, love!” Frankie thanked her seconds before throwing on a duck face and posing for countless selfies.

Lauren kept dragging him back until they left the overly crowded area. His back hit a stone wall and Lauren came to stand in front of him. Only a couple feet separated them as she a hand on either side of his face to let him know that escaping was not an option.

“So?” she asked. Her voice was flat and her eyes guarded as if she was preparing herself for bad news.

“I'm seeing him tomorrow.”

“So, you guys are good?”

“I'd say so, yes.”

Lauren removed her hands and Zach let go of a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

“Good job,” Lauren told him with an approving nod.

“I try."

“Keep doing what you're doing. You have the ability to make him extremely happy.”  
  


* * *

  
“What the hell am I doing here?” Zach mumbled to himself as he clutched his hotel room made cup of (way too watery) hot cocoa close to his chest. Even though It was July the early morning air on Times Square was fairly cold, and he had not packed for cold weather. A shiver made it’s way down his spine when a jacket was suddenly placed over his shoulders and hands lingered on his upper arms to rub some heat into them. The surprise of the touch made Zach jump a couple of feet forward.

“It’s just me! You were looking a little chilly,” Frankie apologized when he realized that he had startled Zach.

“It's okay. I'm just not fully awake yet,” Zach sighed as he pulled the jacket a little tighter and felt something wet. “Shit, I spilled cocoa on your jacket.”

“It won't stain, no big deal,” Frankie comforted him. “Shouldn't you have made it coffee though? And you were the one that suggested sunrise.”

“It's a vending machine beverage, and both are extremely watery. Coffee is even more expensive than cocoa; it's not worth it.”

“Okay, you have a point. Now, let's go! I hailed a cap for us over at the corner of the street.”

The moment his butt met the faux leather of the backseat, his eyelids started to feel heavy. Zach could feel Frankie’s body shake from a soft chuckle the moment he let his head rest on Frankie's shoulder.

“Did you even sleep last night?” he asked sweetly while running a hand through Zach's bed head.

“Not enough. Yesterday was a very stressful day, and this morning I had to get up at 5 fucking a.m.”

“Again, it was your choice.”

“Is it going to be worth it?”

“I believe so, yes.”

“How long until we're there?”

“Twenty minutes."

“Great; wake me up when we're there.”  


* * *

  
Their final destination was a park called 'Robert F Wagner Jr. Park.' Frankie had brought a towel and spread it out on the dewy grass. He let himself fall down onto the towel and pulled a slowly wakening Zach down with him and between his legs. Zach stiffened for a second at the closeness of their position, but he quickly melted into Frankie's chest.

“Is this okay with you?” Frankie asked after he felt the two second hesitation.

“It's new and strange, but you smell really good, so that makes it okay.”

“Why, thank you, love,” Frankie smiled and placed a quick kiss to the top of Zach's head.

“What am I watching?” Zach asked as he looked at the scene in front of them.

“The buildings you see right across from us on the other side of the water belong to New Jersey and right over there,” Frankie lifted his arm for a second to point, “Is the Statue of Liberty."

“Okay," Zach hummed. That was the last thing that was said before they both went quiet to watch the way the dark blue sky turned into a light blue with flocs of pink, orange, and yellow. The beginning of a new day. Zach's last day in New York City. The last time he would see Frankie. Maybe the last time ever. What was he supposed to do when he got back to Florida? Act as if he wasn't an entirely new person? Talk about girls as if he was still looking for a date when he had found somebody that completed him already? How realistic would it be to pine over Frankie when that man could get anyone he wanted? He would probably start dating somebody that appreciates him from the start the moment Zach's plane leaves the ground.

“I'm really going to miss you," Frankie mumbled into Zach's shoulder as if he was able to read his mind.

“You're just saying that, but thank you."

“Exuse you? I'm not ‘just saying’ that. How could you think that?”

“Just some passing thoughts.”

“Don't tell yourself such lies, please. I've never had such a close bond with anybody in such a short amount of time. Believe me, I will miss you.”

“And even if that's true, how will anything work with us in two different states? I'm not even talking about, like, something more… But just a friendship? How could we make a friendship work?”

“We'll make it work because we want it to work and sometimes that's enough.”

“I guess…” Zach wasn't convinced, and instead of clearing things up, Frankie just created even more doubt. Frankie sensed it like always.

“Can I give you something? To remember me by?” he asked softly.

“You don't have to give me anything,” Zach laughed. “Everything you've done for me the last week is more than enough.”

“It's not something you can hold, just… Like a said; something to remember me by.”

“I'm extremely curious, and you're being extremely vague. Just give it."

As soon as he had finished his sentence, a hand placed itself on his chest to pull him tighter against Frankie's. Zach could feel his body slide every so slightly to the left while Frankie's face became more visible on his right. It only took him a second to figure out what was happening, and no bone in his body could think about stopping it as Frankie studied his face for any sign of doubt. His breath filled his nose. Always a hint of mint – Frankie cared about hygiene and that was definitely not a bad quality to have.

The moment Frankie's eyes closed, Zach's followed suit, and finally, their lips met.

If anyone had told him that he would kiss a man a couple of months ago, Zach would have laughed and probably said something homophobic because that old Zach wasn't the most openminded guy, but in this moment, new Zach had nowhere he would rather be.


	10. Chapter 10 Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a while! I wanted the tenth chapter to be the last, but as it turns out there is a lot that needs to happen before the boys can get together. Because of this I decided to break the chapter down into parts. This is the first part, and it is mainly a filler. I still hope you guys like it  
> Thank you Zankie-bae for helping me out when I'm stuck :)
> 
> p.s. I put a ~ whenever the POV changes within a scene. I can't seem to get the ~ in the middle of the page. I'm sorry, it looks really sloppy.

_Kissing Frankie was…different, different from kissing Veronica and definitely different from the awkward first kiss he had gotten in fourth grade. Maybe it was because it was with a guy, maybe because there were actual feelings involved. He couldn't quite pinpoint it and quickly gave up trying to do so because Frankie's tongue pushed against his lips. Somebody moaned. It was probably him, but there was no telling as all he could focus on was the way Frankie gradually rolled them over on the towel until his body completely covered Zach's.  
_

_“Thank you for bothering me yesterday until I listened to you,” Frankie said with a pleased sigh against Zach's lips before giving him another sweet kiss.  
_

_“My pleasure,” Zach answered with a wink.  
_

_“Definitely your pleasure,” Frankie almost growled passionately before he moved in for another kiss.  
_

_Sadly, this kiss never came as Frankie's head shot up right before their lips touched. Zach looked around confused only to realize that he had forgotten they were in a public place. A girl in workout clothes stood at the edge of the field and looked at the two of them with big eyes. When she saw that she had been caught, she quickly kept on jogging.  
_

_Frankie carefully shifted his weight and moved his body back onto the towel. Only his arm stayed wound around Zach's shoulders. He softly tickled Zach's neck to get his attention. Zach turned his head around to face Frankie.  
_

_“Have you packed yet?” Frankie asked softly while drawing figures on the back of Zach's neck with his fingers.  
_

_“A little,” Zach said reluctantly.  
_

_“Let's go look for a taxi." Frankie sighed.  
_

_Zach would rather not, but he knew that if they didn’t leave now, he'd miss his plane  
_

_They shared one final kiss before getting up and walking into the terrifying unknown._  
  


“Yo, Zach, wake up!”

A push to his side made Zach momentarily lose his balance.

“What's wrong with you, man?” Eric asked, “Ever since you came back from New York, it's like you're in another world half of the time.”

“I'm fine, just tired,” Zach lied.

“Yeah, right. You just can't stop thinking about that Veronica chick, don't try to hide it,” Logan said with a smug smile on his face.

“You caught me!” Zach said as he dramatically threw his hands in the air like he was surrendering.

He hadn't told them. At first, it was because he was afraid of their reaction, but as time went on, he felt like it didn't matter anyway. Frankie had promised that their long distance thing would work out because 'sometimes just wanting something to work out is enough.' He had said that mere seconds before Zach had gotten out of the taxi to go back to his room and pack the last of his stuff. Zach had believed him then, but now he was thinking that maybe the rule didn't apply to the two of them.

It has been nine days since New York and their contact had only consisted of some back and forth texting and four phone calls, two of which had been a pocket dials on Frankie's part. Zach spoke more to Veronica on a regular basis than to Frankie, and he hated that he had to tell her time and time again that after NYC nothing worth mentioning had happened between him and Frankie. She never stopped asking though; she really wanted the two of them to work out, maybe even more than Zach some days.

“It's your turn to hit the ball, dude," Eric told him and thrusted the club into his hands as he noticed that Zach had started to daydream again.

Zach accepted it eagerly and walked up to the ball to do what he did best. With some imagination, he saw Frankie's face on the ball, and he hit it as hard as he could. The ball flew away, but for once, it did not relieve his stress.  
  


* * *

   
“It's just such a waste. You two are so cute together,” Veronica whined through the phone laying on Zach's chest. Zach had put her on speakerphone and was currently lying on his bed mindlessly watching TV while playing tug of war with a bone and his puppy

“I know, but I don't know what to do about it. He told me that he's super busy, and it's really hard to get in touch,” he sighed.

“I don't like it. I gave you up for this dude and you guys aren't even dating yet.”

“You gave me up?” Zach snorted.

“I like being dramatic.”

“I'm aware.”

His phone buzzed and alerted him that he had just received a text.

 

From: Frankie (5:47 PM)

Look at these cute puppies we got on set!

 

Attached was a photo of Frankie's gorgeous face surrounded with two tiny chocolate brown puppies that were in the process of licking his face.

“What was that sound?” Veronica wanted to know.

“Frankie just texted me.”

“Ooh! Anything juicy?”

“Just puppies, nothing exciting.”

Zach had nothing more interesting to share. He was thinking of ending the call, but as if Veronica could sense it, she started another conversation.

“Zach, I'm getting the strong feeling that you're kind of giving up on him. I can't allow that.”

“You're starting to sound like my mom, Veron, please stop being so invested in my love life,” Zach told her with a sigh as he shut off his TV and turned off the speakerphone, “it's a little annoying.”

“Not happening. You guys are going to end up together. I already know what dress I am going to wear when you make me your maid of honor.”

“I want to believe you, I do, but some days I don't know how.”

“You know what? Instead of whining to me, you could talk to him! What a great idea. I'm hanging up now and you're going to call him. How does that sound?”

“I could do that.”

“Awesome, talk to you later!”

Zach was in the middle of saying "bye" as she hung up, and he chuckled. Who knew that after all those years they would become such great friends again? Definitely not him.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                 ~

 

Veronica hung up with an annoyed sigh. Why was Zach so… Stubborn? Insecure? She didn't know what it was, but it was starting to get to her

“He was right, you know? You're way too involved,” Raphael, her boyfriend, said as he rubbed her shoulders, “It's starting to freak me out, Babe. You're not responsible for him or any other parts of his life.”

“No, but you're wrong, you see?” Veronica argued as she put her phone away and turned to face him. “He freaked out when they had a fight. He doesn't deal with basic human emotions other than 'happy' and 'tired' and maybe sometimes 'sad,’ but that probably depends on the severity.”

“He's still a grown man. They both are.”

“You didn't see them together, okay?” she almost snapped. She knew this wasn't a cute look on her, but couldn't help it that she had an extremely passioned heart and a deep yearning to help people. Maybe it wasn't healthy for their friendship to view Zach as a project, but he wasn't going to tell Frankie that he didn't like the pace with which they were going, and somebody had to in order to get them talking about where they stood.

“I'll be… I'll go… I'll let you do your thing,” Raphael stuttered as he quickly left the room. He knew when not to argue her and give her space.

“Call me when you want dinner,” Veronica said absentmindedly after him as she went into her bedroom and lay down with her laptop in front of her. It was time that she gave Zach a push in the right direction.

                                                                                                                                     ~  
  
Frankie answered on the second ring with an excited “Hey, you!”

“Hey, you,” Zach repeated while making himself more comfortable on his bed.

“I missed your voice; I'm so sorry that I didn't have a lot of time for you the past couple of days, or week even.”

“It's okay,” Zach told him. Sometimes the roller coaster inside his head drove him nuts. It was really hard to figure out where they stood whenever they weren't talking, but when they did, there was no doubt in Zach's mind that they'll work out in the end. “What were you on set for?”

“A friend of mine had a guest appearance on this internet show, and I joined for moral support. The puppies were so cute!” Frankie gushed.

“So cute you had to share them with me?”

“I couldn't help it, their eyes reminded me of yours.”

Zach giggled fondly as he ran a hand across his face. 

“I miss you,” he told Frankie, “I miss you, and I didn't ever think I would, but I miss New York City.”

“New York has that effect on you, yes,” Frankie answered with a sigh.

“You don't miss me?” Zach said indignant when he noticed that Frankie ignored that part.

“Of course I miss you, you goof,” Frankie giggled, but Zach only heard the first part as a voice coming from the entrance of his room startled him and got his attention.

“Of course she misses you, you beast,” Logan teased from where he is leaning against the doorpost.

Zach almost threw his phone across the room out of shock. Luckily it just fall out ot his hands and landed on the edge of his mattress. With wide eyes he scrambled to retrieve it and put it back against his ear while keeping his eyes on Logan.

“I'll call you later, Frankie, bye,” he said in a rush before he hung up and threw the phone to the other side of his bed.

“Why are you being so jumpy?” Logan asked while entering the room and taking a seat on Zach's desk chair. He turned it around so he could rest his arms on the back rest. “Also, I thought Veronica was your chick, who the hell is Frankie? Or a better question: why are people still calling their daughters 'Frankie?' Like, seriously?”

“He isn't —” No, no, no, no, NO

“He? Did you just say it's a he? You were just telling some dude that you missed him? And New York? Did you meet him there? Why did you want him to miss you? Are you gay with him or something?”

The questions came from left and right and overwhelmed him completely.

“Please leave,” Zach muttered with big eyes.

“Golf tomorrow at two, Rance. I expect you to be there and explain what the hell just happened here,” Logan said as gave Zach a knowing look and left the room.

With a groan, Zach let his body fall back onto his bed. Tiger wasted no time to join him there. Zach had forgotten that the dog had been in his room the entire time and was startled yet again, but he relaxed quickly and pulled him closer to his chest.

His mom walked by his room and Zach quickly called her attention.

“What's up, Sweetheart?” she asked.

“Please stop letting friends come inside. Just call me if someone is at the door for me, okay?” he sighed.

His mom lifted an eyebrow at the request as it had never been a problem before, but she nodded anyway and then lingered at the edge of his room a little longer.

“Are you okay, Zachary?”

“I'm fine,” he huffed as he buried his nose into Tiger's fur.

Jill was eager to know more, but right now didn't seem to be the right moment. She blew a kiss and left his room.

A couple of seconds after she left, Zach was disturbed yet again, this time by Peyton.

“Mom send me,” he told Zach as he made himself comfortable on his brother’s bed and pet the dog.

“Why?” Zach asked. He actually knew why their mom had sent him, and while he doubted Peyton knew, he liked to play dumb. 

“I don't know,” Peyton said with a shrug, “but I haven't seen you all day. Do you want to game a little?”

“Sure, Pizzle.” Zach ruffled Peyton's hair and moved to get off bed.

Peyton huffed and straightened his hair before he got off the bed too as he fixed his shirt. Zach smiled when he saw that it was the two-sizes-too-big ‘my brother went to NYC and all he got me is this stupid shirt’ shirt he bought for him in New York.

“The shirt looks badass on you,” he said while he passed him one of the game controllers and prepared the game. Thank god for is little brother whenever he needed an escape.  
                                     

* * *

   
“Frankie! Frankie Grande!”

The voice reached his ears, but it took Frankie a little longer to register that it was his name that was being called. Now that he had to get his morning coffees on his own, they started even slower than before.

“Hey, Veronica, was it?” Frankie greeted her after he had turned around and put the voice and the face together.

“Yeah. Good morning.” Veronica had no idea where the two of them stood. In case she had left Frankie with a bad impression of her, she had brought coffee as a peace offering. She handed it to him with a nervous giggle.

“Oh, you're an angel,” Frankie said as he eagerly took the cup from her and gave her a quick hug. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Blinded by jealousy the last time she had seen him, Veronica had forgotten what a genuinely nice person Frankie was. She felt stupid for thinking that he would have sent her away on first sight.

“I… Er, wanted to know how you were doing. I heard you are really busy.”

Frankie looked confused at her.

“Yeah, I am. How do you know?” Before she had a chance to answer, Frankie figured it out himself. “Zach,” he sighed.

“Yeah. I keep closer contact with him than you, and which one of us wants to date him again?”

“As far as I know, it's the both of us,” Frankie said with a lifted eyebrow.

“Not anymore. I have a boyfriend, and even if I didn't, it wouldn't matter because he likes you.”

“Why are you here again?” Frankie wondered what her angle was.

“I wanted to know why the two of you aren't together already."

“Did he send you or something?”

“No, I got frustrated because nothing happened between you guys and decided to hunt you down. Surprisingly easy, by the way."

“Are you always this involved in other people’s lives?”

“Just the ones I care about. Now, tell me, why aren't you guys together yet? Are you really busy? Hmm?” she tried to be intimidating by taking a step closer to Frankie and bringing her face closer to his, but Frankie wasn't afraid of her as she barely reached his shoulders.

“I'm actually busy, you know, and will be late for a script reading if I won't leave now.” He moved to walk away from her but Veronica eagerly followed.

“That's perfectly fine, we'll talk along the way!”

Frankie kept quiet and she obviously took that as an invitation to keep on talking.

“You two are so cute, you know? I didn't see it at first, but I do now. I hate seeing Zach getting discouraged to pursue anything between you guys because he takes you not talking to him often as a sign that you don't care.”

At first, Frankie had thought that her involvement in their relationship was a bit weird and really intrusive, but now that he heard this, he was glad she had sought him out, because Zach would've never told him this and honestly, Frankie had gotten some doubts on his own.

“Your face suggests that I got you thinking,” Veronica said carefully. That girl was good.

“It's not easy, okay?” Frankie said with a sigh. “We knew each other for a week before he left, and now what? I have no idea if he still feels the same about me. He told me about the way his friends could be quite problematic. What if they've changed his view on things or even the way he feels? You know about our fight? What I told him then still counts, I've been through this before. The guy thinks he likes me, but then after we've been apart for a little, he changes his mind and is totally straight again, and it was just that one moment, and –”

“Okay, I need you to breath and to stop right now,” Veronica interrupted him, “The both of you are driving me nuts! If you'd tell each other this shit, you wouldn't have so much pent up stress. That's how you get grey hairs.”

“You're right, I know you're right,” Frankie mumbled as he played with the lid of his coffee cup before he threw it in the trashcan.

“Good, I know it too.”

Frankie hesitated for a second but then shared something with her that he had been thinking about for a little while.

“At the end of this week, I have a week or two off. I'm going to spend it with my grandparents in Florida and was thinking about surprising Zach there.”

“That would be so cute!” Veronica gushed as she took a tight hold of Frankie's wrist. “Please do that, I know it would make you both very happy.”

'“Should I keep it a surprise? Or should I let him know?”

“I think it's better to let him know. There's no need to keep him in the dark, that'll only keep him worrying.”

“Okay, I'll call him sometime in the afternoon. I really need to hurry now.”

“I'll let you go. Please don't make me have to visit you again.”

“I'll try,” Frankie said with a nod and wave before leaving her behind.

With renewed energy, he made his way toward the office. It was a tiny supporting guest appearance that he had gotten, nothing big. He was only going because his agent thought it would be good to show his face on TV every now and then. He wanted to please his agent and he loved acting, those were the only reasons that he didn't get on the next flight to Florida.

 

                                                                                                                                     ~

Veronica squealed as she watched Frankie walk away.

She was Friend Of The Year. Her Maid Of Honor status practically set in stone. Maybe she'd carry their children? Only if they'd ask though, and after she had discussed it with Raphael. There was a chance that she was thinking too far ahead.

‘You can thank me later,’ she texted Zach on her way back home.

Zach answered with a bunch of question marks but she didn't bother to reply as she knew that he would put two and two together after Frankie had shared his news with him this afternoon.

                                                                                                                                      ~  
  
  
Zach went about his morning like every other and didn't think too long about Veronica's text that had woken him up. She had been known to regularly text random stuff with zero context, so he didn't even bother to figure out what she meant after she didn't reply to his question marks.

“Zach, Eric is at the door for you,” Jill told him from the living room.

“Be right there!” Zach replied as he grabbed his bag and made his way to the front door.

“What the fuck is this kind of fourth grade shit?” Eric asked as Zach got outside. He was obviously confused about the way he had just been denied entrance to a home that, at this point, might as well be his own.

“Sorry, I had a moment yesterday,” Zach apologized, though he was glad that his mom had actually listened to him, but it may have been a little too much to ask. ”I'll tell her later that you guys can just come in again.”

“Please do. Now, we need to get to the course. Logan told us we needed to have a word with you.”

Zach followed reluctantly, and Eric noticed how his prior good mood had faded.

“It's nothing bad, we just want to make sure that you're okay.”

“I am,” Zach argued.

“That isn't up to you to decide,” Eric told him before getting into his car and waving for Zach to get in on the passenger side.

After they arrived and had greeted the other guys Zach immediately took a club out of his bag and a ball from the basket in a desperate attempt to stop them from questioning him. Maybe if he started playing, they'd leave him be for a little while.

“Not so fast,” Logan said with a hand on Zach's shoulder which he used to pull him back towards the group and onto the ground. “Sit down, Rance.”

Zach did so with a roll of his eyes. His friends could be so dramatic.

“So,” Logan began. He went to stand in front of Zach with his hands on his hips. “Frankie, eh?”

“What do you want from me?” He immediately went into defensive mode.

“Why didn't you tell us?” AJ asked. He actually sounded a little hurt.

“Isn't it obvious?” Eric answered for him, “We warned him, but he didn't listen! How many times did you say your mom dragged you to a Broadway show?”

“Broadway does NOT—”

“Neil Patrick Harris was my GOD in _How I Met Your Mother_ before Broadway turned him gay,”

“That is NOT—” They didn't give Zach a chance to come in between.

“Why didn't you tell us?” AJ asked again.

“What would you guys have done if I told told you?”

“Exactly what we're doing right now. We're going to help you.”

“Help me?” Zach asked confused.

“We're going to make things right, bro,” Eric said.

“Everybody has their moments of doubt. My weakness for example, is Zac Efron.” Logan said.

“Mine is Brad Pitt, especially in Troy,” AJ shared which earned him a fist bump from Eric.

“We all have had a weakness, but we resisted temptation. You caved. It's okay. We'll fix you up again,” Logan told Zach.

“Fix me up?” Zach repeated slowly. He didn't particularly liked the sound of that.

“We're going out tonight like we should have when you came back,” Logan explained, “within a couple of seconds, girls will be coming your way like magnets. Pick the one, or ones, you like the most, and you'll be reminded of why we like women.”

It sounded like the worst plan ever, but Zach felt like he didn't have much choice as his friends reacted way better than he had thought. They weren't accepting, but they still wanted to be his friends and even wanted to help him, how could he turn that down?

He was about to accept when his phone started buzzing. He took it out to check who the caller was. Speaking of the devil, it was Frankie. In a spur of the moment Zach pressed 'decline' with a rapidly raising feeling of guilt, but he swallowed it down.

“There you go!” Eric said happily with a slap on Zach's back, “That was the first step!”

“What happened?” Logan and AJ wanted to know. They sat in front of Zach and didn't see whose call he had just declined.

“Frankie called and our man here sent him straight to voicemail!”                

“Good job,” AJ said. “It's gonna be okay. You're doing great already.”

Zach hummed and shot the guys surrounding him a quick smile before they finally let him play golf.   
                       

* * *

   
Before they went out clubbing later that evening, Zach went by his house to change into some more party-ready clothes. As he threw his vest on his bed, his phone fell out of the pocket. Zach had forgotten about it as he had put the thing on ‘silent’ right after he ignored Frankie's call. Now he was almost too afraid to check if he had any missed calls. In a quick moment of courage, he turned the phone around and activated the screen.

 

3 missed call(s)

2 voicemail(s)

 

He went straight to the voicemails. The first one was from Frankie.

“Hey, I think you just declined my call. It's okay, you're probably busy. I just wanted to run something by you, but I'll try again later.” The call was ended with a kiss through the phone.

The second voicemail is from Veronica.

“Hey, Zachy! Do love me yet? I mean, more than usual, of course. Call me when you get this! It's not much fun to party on my own. Kay. Call me.” She giggled one last time before the line went dead.

A gut feeling told him that her excitement level had to do with whatever Frankie had wanted to say to him. Since there was no way Zach could to talk to Frankie without feeling extremely guilty, he'd rather face Veronica.

“Hey, you!” she said, excited, as she answered the phone. “And? How amazing is this? You're welcome. I hope he told you I was the one to make this happen. I hope he credited me. Did he credit me? Did he tell you how funny and cute I am?”

Zach let her ramble on like she always did without interrupting her. When she finally allowed him to speak, he quickly burst her bubble.

“I haven't spoken to Frankie today, so I don't know what I'm supposed to me excited about.”

“He didn't call you?”

“He did, I, er… I just didn't pick up.”

“You didn't pick up?”

“Yeah. You know, I think it's better this way.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Veronica said nearly in hysterics as she understood what Zach was saying. “What happened? I thought you were doing great about the whole thing. I mean, there were days of doubt, but I pulled you through them.”

“I'm not worth it.” Zach sighed.

“I can't believe you!” She was rapidly becoming angry. “I told him earlier today this wouldn't happen, and here you are.”

Zach opened a couple of drawers and tried to focus on his clothing options for tonight instead of her harsh voice.

“Are you listening to me?!”

The kaki shorts or his blue jeans?

“Zach, talk to me. Is this about your friends? Did you talk to them? Did they say something?”

Probably the jeans, he had a lot more tanks and polos that went with it.

“We talked, yes,” he admitted, “but I realized on my own that Frankie deserves better.”

“I'm so mad at you right now,” Veronica told him. “I promised Frankie you wouldn't do this, and you know too how he was hurt in this way before.”

Green or blue polo? Should he even wear a polo to a club? What were his other options?

“We can't all be perfect.”

“Fuck you,” Veronica spat. “I can't believe you're doing this to him.”

“I have to go,” Zach said in a rush, and he hung up the phone before she could hear him choke up. Sure, this wasn't going as he had hoped when he had left NYC, but his friends were really important to him. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

The first two shots he drank that night were presents from his friends and the next two he gifted to himself for being unreliable and unworthy of love. The shots did help. As his body started to loosen up and the voice in his head that was bad mouthing him got quiet, he moved more freely over the dance floor. Logan took him by his arm and moved them towards a group of girls that were dancing in the middle of the room.

“Pick one,” Logan told him.

Zach quickly checked out his choices but was saved from making one when a tan girl with brown curls past her shoulders made eye contact with him and didn't break it while she seductively dragged her hands from her hips over her purple sequined top and through her hair. As he made his way to her, Logan gave him an excited thumbs up.

He could probably get used to this.  
  


* * *

   
“Zach, wake up,” Kevin said as he carefully shook Zach back to life

“Wha wuz happnin'?” Zach mumbled as he rolled away from his dad and buried his face deeper into his pillow.

“We have guests,” Kevin told him as he shook Zach again, a little rougher this time.

“This early?” Zach yawned.

“It's two P.M.”

That information woke Zach right up.

“Shit, I didn't mean to sleep in like this,” he said as he felt around for his phone to confirm that it was, indeed, eleven past two.

“Maybe if you didn’t come home at five in the morning three days in a row, you'd be able to get out of bed with the rest of the world,” his dad said as he shot his son a look. “Now, come greet our visitors.”

“Be right there,” Zach promised.

His dad left his room, and Zach started to dress while he listened to the voices that came from outside the living room, hoping to make out who he was being forced out of his bed for.

With his hair still sticking into several directions, he walked out of his bedroom and saw a quick glimpse of a man before he disapeared into the hall way.

“What the…” Zach whispered to himself when he thought that, from what he had seen on pictures, the guy looked a lot like Rapheal, but that couldn't be him. Right?

“Zachy!” Veronica greeted him excited when he stepped outside.

She had just retrieved her luggage from the back of a taxi and put it with the other suitcases that stood next to the door before she ran over and gave him a hug.

“Wha’?” Zach stammered as Veronica squealed.

“Surprise!”

“Isn't this fun?” Jill said as she happily took Jane into her arms. “We decided that just one week of New York wasn’t enough time spent together.”

“So much fun,” Zach mumled, still waking up.

“Can you help me with my luggage?” Veronica asked Zach. There was something in her eyes that made him want to decline.

“Be a good host, Zachary,” his mom warned him when she noticed his hesitation, and with a sigh, he took a hold of Veronica's suitcase and motioned for her to follow him to the guest room.

When he entered it, he found out that the guy he had seen before was indeed Raphael.

“Nice to meet you, Zach,” he said as they shook hands.

“You too. I’ve heard a lot.”

He had planned to just leave the room after that, but Veronica seemed to have a different idea.

“Honey, please leave us alone for a minute,” she told her boyfriend.

“I'm so sorry, I told her not to,” Raphael whispered to Zach as he passed him on his way out.

Zach looked after him confused and a little scared. He slowly turned his head back to Veronica when he heard her cough impatiently. She had a determined look on her face and her arms crossed in front her chest.

“We're going to make some changes,” she announced, “because I can't watch this any longer.”

“Change what?” Zach squeaked; he knew she could be intimidating, but it had been a while since he had been on the receiving end of it in person and honestly, he was a little scared of her.

“Your mom just told me that she had sent your dad to wake you up because you came home really late last night and that that has become a regular thing. I'm forbidding you to go out from here on out.”

“Forbid me?” Zach huffed, his fear ebbed away with the ridiculousness of the request.

“Yeah, because I know you only do it to please your stupid friends and escape reality. Guess what, we're going to end that!” she clapped in her hands of excitement and Zach groaned.

“I liked you more when you were in New York,” he told her.

“Ditto,” Veronica told him with a glare before she put her smile back on her face. “We'll talk more later. O.M.G. This is going to be so much fun!”

“For how long will you be here?” Zach wondered as she made her way back outside.

“As long as needed,” she told him, and Zach got scared again.  
                                                                                

* * *

   
Veronica quickly made herself feel at home with the Rances. She spent time with her mom and Jill gossiping about celebirties and mutual friends. They also had a couple of trips planned around the neighborhood and into the city so Veronica and Jane could see their old house and reminisce about their years in Florida. Raphael tagged along with most trips so he could see where Veronica grew up, but he also liked to play games with Peyton and Zach and watch sports with Kevin.

Not only had made Veronica herself comfortable with Zach’s family but also with his friends. She had been very resolute about meeting them, a little too much in Zach’s opinion. He had no idea what they would think of her as she was an incredibly girly-girl and she had to join on the one night they were planned to just game and drink beer.

“You really don't have to do this,” Zach sighed when they pulled up in front of Eric’s house. “You're probably not going to have any fun. We're just going to play some FIFA and GTA.”

“You may think you know me,” Veronica huffed as she removed her hair from her face back behind her ear in a swift motion, “but you don't know half of it.”

And she was right. Apparently, Raphael also gamed a lot with his friends when they came over, and Veronica was a quick learner. She had the guys wrapped around her fingers within seconds of playing GTA as she swore like a sailor and drank beers with them.

“Really?” Logan asked him when they were on their way to the kitchen to grab some chips. “You let her go? She's fucking awesome, man.”

“I have honestly never seen this side of her before. It's scaring me a little actually.”

Logan chuckled and patted him on the back. “Oh, Zach Attack, you still have a long way to go.”

“Shut up, we're friends, and she's taken anyway.’”

“Relationships can break.”

“Don't be such a dick,” Zach said with a glare before he walked back to the basement.

“Just saying she could have been yours,” Logan called after him.

When Zach joined the rest of the gang, they were all in the midst of a laughing fit.

“You guys are so funny, oh my god,” Veronica wheezed while giving AJ a playful push against his shoulder.

“You should come hang with us more often,” AJ decided.

“Can’t you just stay here and send Zach back to New York?” Eric wondered out loud.

“Thanks, man,” Zach said sarcastically as he threw a bag of chips at Eric’s face.

Zach sat down next to Veronica on the ground in front of the couch.

“How are you enjoying yourself?” he asked her.

“I’m doing awesome!” she giggled, “They’re a lot of fun. it’s so sad that they have to be a little problemetic.”

“That’s only when deeper issues come up, blame it on the south. When we’re chilling like this though, they’re great guys,” Zach defended his friends.

“I know another great guy,” she smiled tipsy at him.

“Yeah, you told me. Raphael is a real catch,” Zach said as he fondly shook his head. He was really glad she had met him; they were so adorable together.

“No, Zach, for you!” Veronica declared excited. “A great, great guy, just for you. Also from New York. Your own Raphael.”

“I don’t need my own Raphael,” Zach told her with a stern look, “I got this number from a girl the other night, I think there might be something there.”

“Oh, Susan?” Logan asked from where sat behind them on the couch.

“No, dude, Rebecca, did you see her boobs?” Zach told him.

They shared a fist bump while Logan whispered, “Nice!”

Zach took a quick look at Veronica before he returned his focus back to whatever game Eric was playing. She did not look pleased and she crossed her arms with a huff. Zach felt a little guilty for playing up his straight card like this, but she had started it.  
  


* * *

   
Somehow, Veronica got the guys to agree with her that going to this coffee place in the neighborhood would be a lot of fun. It was obvious that they really liked her as Logan and Eric didn't even drink coffee. The group of five took place around an empty booth in the right corner of the cafe. Only Veronica and AJ actually ordered coffee, Zach had opted for some tea, and Eric and Logan didn’t get anything. The two of them could have been mistaken for statues, they were sitting so still. It was almost funny to see how uncomfortable they were. The four of them never hung out in settings like this, and he doubted they ever went here on their own.

They sat there in silence. Zach had thought that Veronica would take it upon herself to entertain this afternoon. It was her idea to come here in the first place, but she didn’t bother playing a good hostess and help the boys feel less out of their element. Instead, she fidgeted in her seat as she kept locking and unlocking her phone as if she was waiting for a message.

He wanted to call her out, and was about to do so, when she suddenly shot up from her chair and knocking it down in the process. Zach caught it just in time before it hit the floor.

“What's going on?” he asked while Veronica caught stares from their table and tables nearby.

“I need to go to the toilet,” Veronica said in a rush before she walked into the wrong direction.

“Why did we agree to this again?” Logan mumbled as he played with the menu on the table.

“I have literally no idea, somehow I thought it would be fun? Veronica made it sound like fun,” Eric sighed.

“Yeah, she was really pushy about coming here.”

“I wonder why?”

‘Why?’ was a good question. It got Zach’a gears running as he tried to figure out why he hadn’t wondered ‘why’ yesterday when the guys were making plans to go to Miami beach for the day and she had immediately come in-between and insisted that going to this place would be more fun. How they had bought it, Zach didn’t know. He then realized that there was more that he wasn’t questioning like how she had just obviously walked away from the toilets and instead in the direction of the entrance of the cafe when she has stated that she use the toilet.

Zach mindlessly stirred his tea while feeling like a detective as he thought of possible reasons that could explain her behavior.

Deep in thought, he heard her voice in the distance. She was talking to someone. Someone male. Someone…

“Hey guys, I want you to meet somebody. This is—”

Zach's head shot up.

“Frankie,” he breathed, with big eyes and a heart that beat like crazy.


	11. Chapter 10 Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter! The only thing left is the epilogue which I will post right after I post this chapter. Writing this story has been so much fun for me! This is the first fanfic I have ever written and the reponse has been so sweet and amazing. You all have given the writer inside of me such a confidence boost. It is the best feeling ever and I want to thank you for that <3  
> And last but not least, I need to thank my sweet beta Zankie-bae for making sure that every sentence flowed as it should and nothing was misspelled. It would have been a mess without you!

Veronica happily introduced Frankie to the other guys at the table while Zach didn't know where to look.

Frankie was supposed to be in New York, he had a job and a home there. Why was he here.

Zach took a deep breath and peeked a look at Frankie out of the corner of his eye. Frankie, very obviously so, made it a point to look everywhere but at Zach. Zach didn’t know what to do. He was so hurt and ashamed and confused.

He kept looking at Frankie until he couldn't take it anymore and an overwhelming need to disappear took a hold of him. His legs dragged him away from the table before his mind had even registered what they were doing. That is how he ended up in the nearest restroom he had found, locked inside one of the stalls.

Zach let his back fall against the wall with a thud and groaned. He was a horrible person. This wasn’t a new revelation of some sorts, he had know this for a while now. Ever since he had chosen his friends over Frankie to be precise. All this time he had been able to push the guilt away because he had been sure that he'd never see Frankie again.

He had been wrong and now Zach had no choice but face the fact that he had hurt Frankie in a way that he had promised not to.

His breathing became ragged and his vision blurred but because he had already looked himself into a stall, he refused to cry.          
                                                                      
                                                                                                                      ~  
  
“This was a bad idea, I don't even remember why I agreed,” Frankie mumbled before he also walked away.

“Guys,” Veronica sighed in defeat. She thought that she had been so clever as she tricked them into facing each other, but it seemed like she had thought too lightly of the situation and they both weren't even close to ready to see the other. 

She helplessly eyed the remaining men at the table, but they all just shrugged at her, proving to be as useless as Veronica had discovered them to be over the last couple of days. These poster boy 'bro's' did fun and no emotions. With a sigh, she turned around and made her way outside. Frankie was her guest; it was only polite to comfort him first.

The moment she exited the cafe Frankie immediately started to apologize. 

“I'm so, so, sorry, I thought maybe I could, but—”

“Don't apologize,” Veronica interrupted him, “I blame my lack of judgement. You said from the start this wouldn't end well, I just didn't listen.”

“Your intentions were pure,” Frankie sighed, “but I need more time, and I need Zach not to literally run away from his problems.”

Veronica eyed him curiously. “And what happens when he stops doing that?”

“Then I’ll be able to talk to him.”

“Have I told you already how amazing you are?” Veronica asked as she shook her head in awe. “How you are just willing to give him a second chance? I mean, Zach isn’t the easiest one out there, but here you are.”

Frankie shrugged as if it was nothing. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always had a good sense of judgement. I know the kind of person Zach is, and I love that kid. He’s caring, devoted, aims to please and–”

Veronica watched as Frankie looked into the cafe and in the direction that Zach had run off to with a melancholy look on his face. She could almost feel the sadness that he oozed, and it broke her heart more than anything that had happened over the last month. The moment was over quickly though, and Frankie physically shook away the sadness as he picked up where he had left off.

“But there’s also a lot of stubbornness, and he’s so easily influenced by his surroundings that whatever there was between us can only work if his friends change their minds or if he comes back to New York City. I don't think there is another way.”

“I’m gonna help you guys get back together,” Veronica said, determined.

Frankie smiled for the first time since he had walked in to the cafe. It looked forced and tired but it wasn't fake. He hooked an arm around her shoulders and gave her a sidewards hug.

“It isn’t your job to fix this, Sweetheart, but thank you so much for wanting to. Don’t kill yourself trying though. Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.” He looked at Veronica for a second and seemed to contemplate something. “That being said, if he were to come around, I would want it to be genuine and not because you threatened him with a knife. Somehow I could see you doing that.”

“I may have thought about it,” Veronica admitted with a cheeky grin.

“Please don’t threaten people with knives!” Frankie said in shock.

“Just once. The guy tried to rob me, okay?”

Frankie nodded a couple of times clearly impressed. He than shook his head fondly and a second tiny smile tugged at his lips before he went in for a real hug.

“I’m leaving. It was great to see you again.”

“It was great to see you too.”

She watched him walk away. When Frankie turned the corner, she went back inside. Now it was time to comfort Zach.

                                                                                                                      ~

“Zach, are you still in here?” Veronica’s voice echoed through the room.

“You can’t be in here. This is the men’s restroom,” Zach protested weakly.

“Nice try, Honey, but you ran into the girls’ restroom.”

“…That’s probably why the toilet is so clean,” Zach muttered when he realized what had felt off to him the entire time.

“That’s why. Do you want to come out of the stall now and talk to me?” Veronica asked.

Zach hesitated a little before he gave in and unlocked his stall. Veronica gave him no time to come out on his own as she pulled the door open. She looked at Zach with a cocked head and her best pair of puppy eyes that made Zach want obey to whatever she was about to ask of him until he remembered who was at the roots of his current situation.

“Why the hell did you bring him here?” Zach asked her with a raised voice. He pushed himself of the wall and walked towards her, demanding an answer.

“I thought it would be good for you to see him again maybe –” Veronica said while she slowly backed away from him.

“I didn’t fucking turn my back on him only to drink coffee with him because you felt like it would be ‘good’ for me."

"And I agree with you!"

"You do?" That wasn't something Zach had expected, and it threw him off, making him forget his anger.

“I do. I’m sorry, Zach, this wasn’t the right way to go about it. Frankie had warned me, but I– ”

“Woah, hold it. Frankie wa– Frankie warned you? You talk to Frankie?” Zach asked confused.

“Yeah, I do, have for a couple of weeks now. I mean, somebody had to tell him why you suddenly removed yourself from his life.” 

“I can't deal with all of this right now,” Zach breathed as he ran his hands across his face.

“Can you deal with anything, ever?” Veronica challenged him.

Zach gave her a look that said, ‘Seriously?’

“Don't know about you, but I'm going home,” he said instead.

“Zach, we need to talk about this! You have been playing this weird, macho version of yourself for a couple of weeks now, but that needs to stop. That guy isn’t you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know because of how you just reacted! You care, Zach. Whether you'd like to admit it or not. You care.”

“I'll see you at dinner,” Zach concluded before he stormed out of the room, really not feeling the conversation.

He ignored the calls of his friends as he made his way through the cafe and into the parking lot where they had parked the car. Only when he reached it did he remembered that Logan had driven all of them to this place, so he either had to wait until his friends were done or he could walk home. After a little hesitation, he decided that it wouldn’t be that long of a walk and that it would give him a great chance to clear his head.

His dad, Peyton, and Raphael were hanging out in the living room when Zach entered his house. They all gave him a confused look since he was red and sweaty from walking in the burning sun.

“Where is Veronica?” Raphael asked.

“She’ll come back later,” Zach said. He didn’t give them the opportunity to ask other questions as he called for Tiger and took a tennis ball from the basket with his toys. “I’ll be outside.”

Tiger was getting better and better at snatching the ball out of the air. Zach encouraged him to jump higher with every throw, and soon he had forgotten about everything else, that was until Veronica came home. Her voice was hard to miss as she, rather rudely, demanded to know where he was. She walked into the garden a few seconds later.

Zach kept playing fetch as he waited for Veronica to talk. He braced himself for a stern speech, but he was surprised when Veronica wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against the back of his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

“Not really.” There was no need to pretend with her anymore. If there was anything he had learned over the past couple of days, it was that somehow, she got him like no one else.

“I'm really sorry for not including you in my failed master plan. I honestly thought that if you saw him, you would just jump into his arms or something,” she said, a little ashamed.

“No,” Zach tried to stay serious but couldn't hold back the small giggle that escaped his lips, “could you imagine that? I don't even think he would be able to hold me. We would just crash to the ground. How romantic.”

“Hmm, I'm not sure. He may have a tinier body than you, but he still has some serious muscles.”

“True, true…” Zach sighed and then muttered, “Look,” as he tugged on Veronica's arm to make her stand next to him.

They fell into a comfortable silence as Zach demonstrated how high Tiger could jump, but Veronica could still feel how tense he was.

“Tell me what's on your mind.”

“I wasn't supposed to ever see him again, Veron. That was the only reason I was kind of able to live with myself. I hate that he couldn't even look at me; he fucking hates me.”

“I wouldn't be so sure.”

Zach turned around and looked at her with big eyes. “Why would you say that? Did he tell you something?”

“Well, I know that he certainly isn't your number one fan right now, but he's mainly just disappointed.”

“Everybody knows that disappointment is worse than anger.”

“Yeah, but it also means that the person who's disappointed knows that you can be better than your actions, and that leaves you with room to prove yourself.”

“I've already had my second chance with him, and I don't see how I'm worth a third.”

“Again, I wouldn't be so sure,” Veronica said with a teasing and giddy smile. Zach’s heart jumped at the thought of what she implied, but he didn’t want to give himself to much false hope, so he tried his best to stay calm and instead asked her the final burning questions he had.

“Did Frankie know that I was there?” 

“Yes.”

“And he agreed to come?”

“Eventually.”

“If he knew, why did he act like I didn't exist.”

“Because he is hurt, Zach. But like I said, nothing has been lost yet. The ball was already in your court but now more than ever. He has a couple of days left in Florida. If you find a way to make him see how much you care before he leaves, that would be perfect.”

“And what if I don't?”

“It will be a lot harder to make things right when he is back in New York.”

“But that’s the thing, he will go back, right? Even if I could fix us, he would still leave again, and then what? Everything would be like it was before, and look how that turned out.”

“Look, Zach,” Veronica said with a sigh, “I don't have all the answers. I'm just telling you what I know, but it's up to you. If you feel like it's all to much and you don't see a clear future with him, then don't make up. If you think that despite the distance that he would make you really, really happy, then you know what to do.”

“I don't think I do. I’ve never thought about ways to make up since I never thought I would be in that spot again.”

“Then figure it out. I can't tell you what to do like the last time. Frankie wants you to be genuine. Just think back to New York and how you handled the fight there.”

Zach absentmindedly nodded as he took in all the new information that had just been dropped on him.

“I can also make Tiger roll over. Do you wanna see that?” he asked after a moment of silence.

Veronica giggled and gave him a quick kiss on his upper arm since she could not reach his shoulder. There had been enough serious talk for today, and she had done all she could.  
  
“Of course; show me!”

She watched him fondly as he enthusiastically began to call for his puppy across the yard in a weird over-exaggerated baby voice. She knew he would do the right thing, but she wasn’t sure if it would happen sooner or later.                                                                      

* * *

Zach really wasn't looking forward to hanging out with his friends on his own the next day. Whenever Veronica joined him, she acted as a kind of shield. As long as she was around, the guys didn't dare to get real with him, but now that she was going to spend the entire day at Disney World with Raphael, he had to prepare himself for the possibility that the guys would take this opportunity to confront him. The plan was to hang out on the beach, but they had also thrown around with the idea of borrowing Logan's dad's boat, and if that pulled through, he had little chance of escaping them.

The horn of a car signaled the arrival of his friends.

“Rancey!” Eric yelled from backseat where he hung out of the window. “Ready for a party on the sea?”

“We got the boat?” Zach asked while he dumped his bag into trunk of the large Mercedes Benz, which also belonged to Logan’s dad, of course. If Zach’s dad would’ve had such an expensive car, Zach wouldn’t have been allowed a mile within the vehicle, let alone drive it.

“It took some convincing, but we got the boat!” Logan said with a grin.

The boat in question was docked close by the beach. It had two decks and the lower one was also a sun deck with a steps that led into the water. Zach and AJ immediately laid down their towels on the deck and lay down while Logan went to prepare the boat for sailing.

Eric put the cooler box with beer and ice pops next to where he had laid down his and Logan's towels. “Are ya ready, Captain?” he yelled at Logan.

“Aye aye!” Logan yelled back.

“It has been way too long since we've done this,” Eric sighed as he lowered his shades and hung his feet in the water.

The three of them settled into an easy silence, but still, Zach felt really tense. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was only a matter of seconds before they would ask about yesterday, and he was right.

“So…” AJ said casually, and Zach froze on the spot, “Frankie, ey?”

“Please don't.”

“No, no! I wasn't… I mean… I think I understand why you like him.”

“What?” Zach shrieked, pleasantly surprised but also highly confused.

“J, Dude,” Eric said, shocked, “what the hell are you doing?”

“What? You and Logan always want our approval whenever you start dating, why won't we do the same for Zach?”

“He isn't dating Frankie!”

“Didn't you see the way they looked at each other?”

“Zach is not gay! He has a thing for that Rebecca chick.”

“He only agreed to that date because you were pushing him.”

“Pushing or not, he could have declined.”

“Do you even notice how much Zach drinks every time we go out? If you need that much to be able to enjoy yourself, something is wrong.”

“We all drink quite a lot whenever we go out.”

“Zach only dances with anybody when he has had at least three drinks.”

“Okay, maybe, but he does seem to enjoy the dancing.”

“He shouldn't have to be drunk for that!”

“Guys! What the fuck? You do know that I am still here, right?” Zach asked, annoyed. “Shit. Let Logan know that I'm going for a swim. Pick me up later.”

“Zach, don't,” AJ protested, but he was to late. Zach had already dove into the water and quickly disappeared from view as the boat sailed on.

The silence surrounding him was greatly welcomed. The only things he could hear were birds and the people by the shore. He had to remember to thank AJ later for sticking up for him, but if there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was when people talked about him like he wasn't there.

Zach had done a couple of laps between the shore and deeper water when he recognized Logan's boat near the line that separated the recreational waters from the waters in which boats could come. Zach swam towards the steps and took a hold of the railing.

“Are you guys done?” he asked.

“All done, man,” AJ nodded.

Zach eyed Eric who held out his hand as a form of apology. He took it without too much fuss as he didn't want to do anything that could fire a discussion back up. The next couple of hours were filled with mindless conversations and just usual dicking around. Eventually they had enough and made their way back to the dock.

Zach was in the process of loading his bag into the trunk when AJ stopped him.

“Zach,” he said, “you wanna grab a bite?”

“Uh… Just us?”

“Yeah. We haven't hung out together in long while, just the two of us.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“We'll see you guys tomorrow!” AJ told Logan and Eric, and then he and Zach made their way to a sandwich place called Miami Subs across the street from the parking lot. They ordered their food, took a seat, and made some small talk until Zach couldn't take it anymore.

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?” AJ asked.

“Stick up for me like that. You haven't done that before.”

“Look, man…” AJ sighed, “Okay, hear me out, yeah?”

Zach nodded and signaled for him to continue.

“Okay. Here we go. Ehh… you know my little sister, Stacey? Of course you know Stacey; the other day she told us over dinner that one of her friends had come out to her. She had been a little shocked at first but then had reassured her that nothing could break their friendship and that she was happy that her friend had trusted her enough to come out to her. My parents were so proud of her. They were praising themselves on their good job at raising us, and I felt like their biggest disappointment because, well, you didn't come out, but obviously something has happened between you and Frankie and we weren't supportive. We outright said that we would fix you! The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I’m supposed to be your best friend, Zach, we’ve known each other for so long…”

“It’s okay,” Zach said in hopes of comforting his upset friend.

“Dude, it’s not okay! Don’t say it is. But I’m going to be a better friend. While you were swimming, I talked to Logan and Eric and I got them to reevaluate their outlook on, you know, all of this.”

“Are you saying that they’re okay with Frankie and me?” It sounded too good to be true.

“Not exactly. I mean, I didn’t have an excuse for how I acted, but, man, their parents are homophobic shits. They never even stood a chance.”

Zach gave him a look, and AJ quickly backtracked.

“I’m not excusing their behavior, man, just telling you as it is.”

“So, what now?” Zach wondered aloud as he tore a piece off his bread and played with it.

“From now on, we’re on your side. We only saw him for a couple of seconds, but Frankie seemed like a cool guy. If it’s not too late, go for it man.”

“It’s, um, it’s maybe too late,” Zach said like it was nothing, like he hadn’t had trouble sleeping last night or any night since New York.

“Why?”

‘Well, you guys told me you’d help me, and I thought it would be better to keep you guys close instead of being all alone and having only one person that cares on the other end of the coast.

“Shit, you did that for us?”

‘Of course, bro’s before ho’s, right?” Zach tried to play cool, but the look AJ gave him told him that his friend wasn’t falling for it.

“We’re not longer in your way. Please do whatever you can to make things right.”

“I'll try. Thank you, man.” If they hadn’t been in public, Zach may have hugged him. Instead they settled on a very emotional fist bump.                                                              

* * *

It was three in the morning, and Zach couldn't sleep. He tried. He had tried for hours, but his mind just kept racing. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and rolled out of bed. He slipped into some comfortable clothes before he made his way towards the guest room. He carefully tip toed around the queen-sized bed to the side that Veronica slept on. 

“Veron,” he whispered as he softly shook her, “Veronica, wake up.”

“Hmmwhasgoinun,” Veronica mumbled before she pushed herself away from him and turned around to continue sleeping.

“Veronica, I need to talk to you.”

He shook her once more, a little more forceful this time, and she turned back to him. Her eyes had opened, but she was practically still asleep.

“Zahhh?”

“Yeah, it's me. Please, I need to talk to you.”

“Whathefuwhatimeiszit,” she leaned over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone to check the time. When she saw it, she shot upright and looked at Zach with big eyes.

“It's three seventeen, who's dead?”

“Nobody is dead. I couldn't sleep. Can we talk?”

“Does this conversation need to happen in the middle of the night? What’s it about?”

“…Frankie,” Zach admitted.

“Right now?” Veronica almost yelled. Zach shushed her while he eyed Jane on the other side of the bed and Raphael behind him on the sofa to make sure neither of them had woken up.

“Right now?” she said again, but softer that time.

“Please?” Zach begged.

She looked at him like he was crazy but then shrugged.

“I'm awake now anyway,” she grumbled.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I'll be right down. You better get me some tea.”

“Yes!” now it was Zach who forgot to whisper and almost woke up the entire room. He quickly corrected himself by covering his mouth hand giving her a thumbs up instead.

Careful not to wake anybody else, Zach made his way to the kitchen. He chose to heat the water on the stove instead of the noisy water boiler and got a slice of his mom's freshly baked cake for both of them since that was the least crunchy midnight snack he could find.

“Okay, Zach, what is it that you need to tell me so bad?” Veronica asked as she pulled her bathrobe a little tighter around her body and tried to deal with her bed-hair.

“Two days ago, when you were in Disney World, I hung out with the guys. I expected them to ask about Frankie and all, and I was a  nervous wreck—”

“Oh, Honey, I'm sorry that I left you alone.”

“No, it's okay because it wasn't that bad! AJ defended me and got into this whole discussion with Eric about why they should support me.”

“I always liked AJ more than the others.”

Zach cracked a smile at that and then told her the rest of the events that day. How AJ had talked to the others and how they were (reluctantly, but still) on his side and vowed to get behind whatever his and Frankie's relationship would be. Veronica listened with big eyes as she could barely believe anything she heard.

“This is amazing,” she smiled when Zach had finished. “Why are you just telling me this now?”

“I needed time to process it myself, but do you know what this means?”

“What?”

“There is nothing in my way now. I thought Frankie would never want to see me again, I was wrong, and I thought my friends would never be okay with it, and I was wrong!”

“I'm so happy!” Veronica said she pinched his cheeks, but then turned the hold into something more painful and looked him dead in the eyes, “but why the hell did you need to drag me out of bed for this?”

“I'm so sorry,” Zach said as he pushed her hand away from his face and massaged his cheek. “I had realized all of this, but it didn't feel real until I had said it out loud. I couldn't sleep; I needed to tell you so it felt real.”

“And what do you mean exactly when you say ‘it’?”

“That I'm gonna try and get Frankie back.”

“About time!” Veronica said, relieved. “Took you long enough. Now I can finally go back to New York.”

“You were actually staying as long as it took for me to make up with Frankie?” He had thought that had been a joke, but with her, one never really knew.

“No silly, I'm actually leaving in three days... Come to think of it, so is Frankie.”                                                                                 

* * *

The two of them had celebrated Zach's break through a little longer before they had both gone back to bed. Veronica had promised to find out where Frankie was staying without getting him suspicious, and that is how he ended up in front of the Grande residence. 

The doorbell echoed through the massive house, and a dog barked in the distance. Zach looked through the patch of frosted glass right next to the door. He could only vaguely make out a white hall when suddenly a dark human-shaped spot came in from the left and moved towards the door. The closer the spot came, the more it resembled Frankie.

When it was only a couple of feet away Zach stepped away from the glass and waited for the door to open. What were only a couple of seconds felt like minutes until the door was finally opened.

“Hi,” Frankie said, and that was all that he said as he looked at Zach with a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes, but maybe Zach just imagined it.

“Hi,” Zach said. He didn't know how to carry himself and bounced from leg to leg.

“What brings you here?”

Zach got caught of guard by the harsh way Frankie had asked the question, and he quickly stopped jumping.

“Because I–I…”

“What is it?”

“It’s…I…” he knew what he wanted to say, but he had a difficult time getting the words right. The speech he had written in his head during the ride to Boca Raton had become completely forgotten. “I want to… I need to apologize. If you'll still have me, that is.”

Frankie was just about to say something when he was interrupted by an older woman with white hair and the tiniest and most adorable puppy ever in her arms. She had just descended the stairs and looked curiously at the end of the hall.

“Who is at the door, Dear?” she asked and walked up next to Frankie.

Frankie put a loving arm around her shoulders. “Zach, this is my grandma, Nonna. Nonna this is Zach. I told you about him, remember?”

“Of course I do,” Nona scoffed, “there is nothing wrong with my memory. Come in, Dear.”

Zach shot Frankie a look, silently asking him if that would be okay. Frankie stepped aside to show him that it was.

“Have you offered your guest something to drink?” Nonna asked.

Frankie let out an over playful sigh as he steered her back towards the stairs.

“He’s only been inside for two seconds. I'll get to it. I’m a good host, you have raised me well. Now go back upstairs. You were supposed to relax today.

“Okay, okay, I trust you. Nice to meet you, Zach.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Zach said as she left while he followed Frankie towards, what seemed to be, the living room.

“Do you want something to drink?” Frankie asked.

“No, I'm good. Thanks.”

“You tell her that when she comes back and sees that you don't have a glass.”

“I will,” Zach said with a small chuckle as he looked around the room. “So, you're staying with your grandparents?”

“Just my Grandma,” Frankie said.

“I'm sorry.” 

“Thank you,” Frankie smiled. He then took a seat and he motioned for Zach to sit down as well. Zach hesitated a little and then took a seat on a second couch since he didn’t really know where they stood yet and didn't want to crowd Frankie.

“This place looks really nice,” Zach said to break the heavy silence that had settled between them.

Small talk was apparently the last thing Frankie wanted to do since he immediately took the opportunity to attack Zach with questions.

“You said you were here to apologize. Why now? What changed?”

Zach took a deep breath and regretted the decision to decline something to drink since he felt naked without anything hold. Frankie looked at him as he waited for him to talk, so Zach did. He told him about his friends and Veronica, what they had done and said and about the way he had experienced the past couple of weeks. It was one, big, emotional, roller coaster. Zach felt the need to end his story with reminding himself, and Frankie, that for the longest time, he hadn’t even thought about apologizing because he thought he would’ve never gotten the chance to. It was a lousy excuse, but the only real excuse he had. 

“Why did you think you’d never get the chance to apologize?” Frankie finally asked; he had stayed silent for the entire duration of Zach’s speech.

“Are you kidding me? I let you fall like you were nothing. How are you even be able to look at me?”

“Because it's you,” Frankie sighed as he scooted closer towards Zach, “and I knew you would come around.”

“You knew?” Zach asked, hesitant.

“Yes. You're not a bad person, just misguided at times.”

Zach stood up from the couch and began to pace in the middle of the room.

“This can't be so easy… Why aren't you crazy mad at me?"

“I have been!” Frankie said, frustrated, as he grabbed Zach by the first piece of clothing he could reach and pulled him down to sit next to him. “For a quite a while, actually, but it was of no use. I was just mad at myself because I should have seen it coming, and I was mad at you because I missed you like crazy.”

“I'm so sorry it took me so long to come around,” Zach said softly.

“I can’t say, ‘It’s okay,’ because it’s not. We could have had a nice couple of weeks together in Florida if you hadn’t cut me off, but what matters now is that you're here.”

“I can't believe you're giving me – What is it, my third? – my third chance.”

“I'm a very forgiving person, but please, promise me that this is the last time you're backtracking.”

“I…”

“I told you before that I understand that you're confused when you suddenly like me when you've only identified as straight before, and that's fine, but with the stunts you're pulling, I'm the one that ends up being hurt the most every time, and I won't have that anymore. If you're ever feeling insecure or confused again, please talk to me. We can work this out if you talk to me. Can you promise that?”

“I–”

“I really like you, Zach. I think we can be something great. I don't want you out of all people to be the one that keeps hurting me. Can you pr– hmpff!”

Frankie had kept cutting Zach off every time he had wanted to promise Frankie everything he asked of him, but Frankie had shown no sign of stopping anytime soon, so Zach thought it was only fair if he interrupted this time. With his lips. On Frankie's.

The kiss lasted a wonderful two seconds before Frankie pulled back. Zach tried to chase his lips, but the hand that was placed on his chest held him back.

“I promise,” Zach confirmed at last.

A giddy smile spread over Frankie's face.

“Thank you,” he sighed before he locked their lips together again.                                                                     

* * *

Zach had hoped that the moment he and Frankie were good again everything would just fall into place, but of course things couldn't be that easy. During the final three days they had together in Florida, they saw each other twice. One time to properly catch up (and make out), and the second time to say goodbye (and, also, make out). 

“I can't believe you're both leaving me,” Zach whined as Frankie cuddled closer to him where they lay together on a sun bed in Nonna's garden.

“Who is the other?” Frankie wondered.

“Veronica is also leaving today.”

“Do you know what time her flight is? Maybe we're on the same plane! That would be fun.”

“Hey, I'm miserable over here.” Zach pouted.

“I'm sorry, Sweetie,” Frankie cooed and kissed the pout away.

“Are we gonna be okay?” Zach asked. They had danced around the subject before, but they had to discuss it sometime, and they didn’t have much time left.

“I think so, yes. If we're both honest with each other, and you talk like you promised to, then I know we can work through a lot.”

“And when will we see each other again?”

“I don't know yet…” Frankie sighed.

“I really, really don't like that answer.”

“Neither do I, but that is all I have for now. The moment I touch the ground and talk to my manager, I'll let you know when I have time off.”

“Okay.”

It was only one word, but Frankie could hear how Zach had already started to doubt everything again. It wasn't going to be easy, but he needed Zach to pull through because, otherwise, they wouldn't get anywhere ever.                                                                        

* * *

After sone teary goodbyes, Frankie went back to the room where he had been staying to finish packing, and Zach went back to the golf course where his friends were waiting for him. The moment he came into view, he was greeted with pats on his back and many questions.

“Are you okay?”

“How did it go?”

“Is he gone now?”

“His plane leaves later this afternoon, but we've said goodbye for now,” Zach told them.

“How are you?” AJ asked.

“I've been better. It's really bittersweet.”

“It's gonna be okay man. We'll get you through it,” Logan smiled, a little awkward, but still.

Zach had to chuckle at their compassion. This conversation would have gone a lot different less than a week ago.

“Thank you guys so much for the support; it means so much.”

“Don't start crying now,” Eric teased.

Zach shook his head and thought about a clever comeback when his thoughts were interrupted by a faint voice calling out his name. Zach followed it, and his eyes eventually landed on Frankie who was making his way down the course.

“Frankie, what are you doing here?” Zach asked as he met Frankie halfway and gave him an excited hug.

“I couldn't… I couldn't…” Frankie took deep breaths as he clutched Zach tight.

“You couldn't what?” Zach asked as he put some distance between them so he could looke at Frankie.

“I couldn't just leave. I was thinking about our conversation earlier, and I thought I was okay with being apart again, but it just doesn't feel right to leave when we're in the same place we were in the last time. I don't want any amount of distance between us anymore until we've figured everything out and we're stable.”

Zach stared surprised at Frankie when he felt multiple burning gazes on his back. He took a quick look around him and saw how his friends were slowly closing in on him.

“So, what are you saying? Are you staying?” Zach asked.

“I thought about it, but no. I have too many commitments in New York to push everything back, so…” Frankie reached into his pocket and handed Zach a piece of paper.

“This is a plane ticket,” Zach said shocked after he had studied it. “Wha’? You can't just expect me to drop everything and move to New York.”

“And I'm not! I'm not expecting that. It's a two way ticked. You can book the flight back whenever you feel like it so you can stay as long as you'd like.”

“And where would I stay?”

“You could stay at my place... I mean, if you want to. If it feels to soon to be that close, we could look at hotels nearby…”

“Maybe The Paramount?” Zach had meant for it to be a joke, but as he saw Frankie's face fall he realized that that much hadn't been clear.

“Oh,” Frankie said as he tried to keep smiling, but the hurt was obvious, “yeah, sure we can do that.”

“No, no, no. I was kidding, Frankie,” Zach said quickly as he took ahold of Frankie's hands. “With you is perfect, staying with you is perfect. It was a joke.”

“Oh, thank God,” Frankie breathed out with a relieved smile. “So, you'll go? You'll come to New York?”

“I…” He looked around at his friends for their opinion; he would be leaving them behind after all.

“Go, man,” Logan said.

“Yeah, have fun!” Eric added.

“I've always liked New York, so you being there will give me an excuse to go.” AJ smiled.

“Okay,” Zach said to them before he turned back to Frankie, “okay, I'm going to New York.”

“Yes! Yes, oh, my god!” Frankie squealed as he embraced Zach and nestled his nose into the space where his shoulder met his neck like he had done before back in New York. It had felt oddly intimate back then, but now, it felt right. “Thank you, Zach. Thank you for doing this for me. For us,” Frankie whispered for only Zach to hear.

Zach wrapped his arms tighter around Frankie. “You have no idea how much you're worth it."


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little glimpse into their life together.
> 
> <3

Zach used the return ticket after staying in New York City for a month. Frankie and he had established a steady routine at that point; Frankie made sure there was coffee and breakfast and Zach was in charge of dinners. Whenever Frankie had a late start, they would switch roles, and, whenever they felt like it, they would opt for a date night. Frankie auditioned for Broadway shows and TV parts while Zach guarded the fort or hung out with either Veronica or Frankie’s friends who were rapidly becoming his own friends too.

Things weren't all smooth though. Living this close together was definitely something they had to get accustomed to. This involved occasional fights, silent treatments, and cold nights alone on the couch. Zach got the hang of discussing his feelings with Frankie, and Frankie promised clean up the glitter better so Zach wouldn't feel like a walking disco ball. Those things fixed a lot of frustrations. Another thing that had ended many fights were long late night talks they would have at night. The talks could have been about anything: the past, their hopes, dreams. They made feel Zach safe like he hadn't felt before. There were many times when he couldn't even imagine how he had ever managed without somebody like Frankie – somebody that never judged and that made him want to be the best version of himself. No matter how much he felt at home in New York, he also strongly felt like he had left a lot of unfinished business behind in Florida.

Zach announced that he would be leaving temporally on a Friday night, and he had thought that it would be no big deal, but Frankie saw it differently.

“So soon already?” Frankie asked with sad eyes as he fell back onto the couch. “You've only been here for what? A week? Don't you like it here?”

“It's been a month actually, and I do! I'm having a great time, it's just… I miss my dog, my brother, my friends, and I think I even miss my parents too, I just want to go back to them for a little."

“Okay…” Frankie said reluctantly. The way his shoulders sagged hurt Zach's heart.

“No, Frankie don't be like this, it won't be permanent.”

“Then when will you be back?” Frankie asked. His tone felt a little accusatory, as if he didn't think Zach would return.

“Hey, woah. Don't you trust me?”

“No, I do. I just thought you'd stay longer before you'd go.”

“Baaabe,” Zach sighed as he took a seat across from Frankie, “I'm telling you, It's only for a little while. I'm just going to spent some time with family and friends and to pack up some stuff I didn't have time for before. I'll be back before you'll start to miss me too much.”

“Okay, I believe you.” A small smile broke through, but Frankie still looked tense.

“Do you really think I'm not serious about us?” Zach asked. He thought he had shown his loyalty enough by now, but if Frankie still doubted him, he should seriously step up his game.

“I don't know… Everything has been so amazing, it all kinda felt too good to be true,” Frankie admitted.

“You know that I have been looking for a job, right? Why would I even think about that kind of responsibility here if I wasn't serious about making a living in New York with my Boyfriend?”

“Hold up.” Frankie shot upright. “What am I?”

“I–I… You're my butt buddy?” Zach quickly backtracked. “My friend with benefits?” In his head, boyfriends was what they were, but they hadn't said it out loud yet.

“I guess we never really made it official.” Frankie giggled as he leaned forwards and circled his arms around Zach's shoulders to pull him onto his lap.

“Shall I… Can I make it official?” Zach asked with a nervous smile.

“And how would you go about that?”

“Frankie James Michael Grande…”

“Hmm, good start.”

“You are, _by far_ , the funniest, most awesome, smartest and hottest guy I've ever met. It would make me the happiest guy on earth if you'd agree to be my boyfriend.”

Frankie giggled and alined their noses as brought his mouth as close as possible to Zach's.

“Yes,” he said.

Zach could feel the words being said and how Frankie smiled against his lips. He wasted no time and went in for a kiss.

Zach pressed Frankie deeper into the couch as he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss. Frankie ran his hands through Zach's hair while he moaned and then traveled them down his shoulders, his chest, and over his upper legs before stopping above his knees and turning his hands around so that could easily grab the underside of Zach's legs. He pressed Zach even closer to his chest for a second and then got off the couch, lifting Zach with him.

“Holy shit,” Zach said in shock as he broke the kiss and looked down at his boyfriend. “Are you secretly the Hulk or something?”

“The longer you want to stay here and make conversation, the less energy I'll have left to take us to the bedroom,” Frankie threatened playfully.

“Shutting up,” Zach said immediately and motioned as if he locked his mouth and threw away the key.

Frankie bumped them into a wall along the way, and when he made it to the bedroom, he wanted to lay Zach down and almost missed the bed. They alternated between giggling and kissing while they undressed the other, and Zach couldn’t remember ever being this happy before.                                                                                 

* * *

Post-sex-sweat was Zach's favorite kind of sweat. Post-sex-sweaty Frankie was also Zach's favorite kinds of Frankie. No, that was a lie. Every kind of Frankie was his favorite kind of Frankie.

“I'm really going to miss you when you're back in Florida. I got way too spoiled by having you around so much.” Frankie sighed as he softly traced the places on Zach's stomach where his abs seriously began to show.

“I swear I'll be back before you'll know it.” Zach turned towards Frankie's touch.

They settled into a comfortable silence and regained their breath. It was the peacefulness of the moment that gave Zach the courage to ask something he had been thinking about for a while but hadn't been sure when would be the right time.

“Could I bring Tiger to New York?” he asked.

Frankie looked at him with a surprised smile before his face fell a little.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me that you want to bring him here, but I don't think there are animals allowed in this building.”

“Really?” Zach sighed, disappointed.

“So we should change that...” Frankie said with a suggestive smile.

“I doubt you can just make them change their stance on pets.” Zach snorted.

“No, Honey,” Frankie giggled as he moved to sit against the headboard, “I meant we could move to a place where pets are allowed.”

Zach sat upright too, excited but also skeptical.

“You'd do that for me?” he asked. 

“After you've dropped everything and joined me here? Anything.”

Frankie had flown out on a Thursday and Zach had flown that Saturday, but he almost hadn't gone. When Frankie had asked him, he had been on such a high, but after he had time to think about what he had actually promised, he immediately got a bad case of cold feet. His friends had to force him to pack, and AJ had pushed him to tell his parents about the relationship he and Frankie had. He had also sat next to him when he had actually told them. Saturday morning, they had all come to pick him up and drive him to the airport. It was only because of their involvement that he eventually, at last, boarded the plane. He was so unbelievably thankful for them.

“Zach?” Frankie asked, concerned, while he waved his hand in front of Zach's face. “Are you still here?”

“Wha’? Yes…Yes, I'm here.”

“You got so quiet all of a sudden.”

“I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?”

“I'm just…” Zach combed his hand through his hair as he thought of words that could perfectly describe the feeling that rushed through his body. There was only one thing that clicked, and when it did, he couldn’t hold it back.

“I love you so much.” He had never said these words before, and it felt so right it almost made him want to cry. Or jump on the bed. Or maybe punch the wall.

Frankie's smile lit up the room. “I love you too.”

That day was the last time either of them doubted their relationship. From that moment forward, no matter what life threw at them, they both knew they would at least always have each other. And that was all they needed.


End file.
